Get Shoppers in Festive Mood

Christmas is just a few days away and you can see Christmas decorations everywhere. But what happens to online stores? Many of them do not seem to be ready for Christmas! I believe that online stores should be decorated as well to get shoppers in festive mood.

Below you can find some links to Christmas animations, flesh cards and pictures that will help you decorate your online store.

Christmas animations:

http://www.free-animations.co.uk/christmas/miscellaneous/christmas_1.html


http://www.fg-a.com/christmas.htm




http://www.animationplayhouse.com/new/christmas5.html





http://www.christmas-graphics-plus.com/



Christmas countdown flash banners:

http://activeden.net/item/customisable-christmas-countdown-clock/

http://www.flashbannernow.com/free-flash/christmas-countdown.php

Christmas countdown at FlashBannerNow.com

More flash banners:

http://blog.fazai38.com/index.php/

http://www.flashmint.com/free/flash-christmas-card.php

http://www.amarasoftware.com/flash-animations/flash-theme-animations.htm

http://www.istockphoto.com/


Nice Christmas cards:

http://www.jacquielawson.com/cards_christmas.asp

http://www.mes-english.com/flashcards/christmas.php

http://www.care2.com/send/catxmas1.html


Stock photos:

http://www.dreamstime.com/search.php?firstvalue=christmas&srh_field=christmas



http://www.bigstockphoto.com/search/christmas/

http://www.shutterstock.com/cat.mhtml?searchterm=christmas

http://www.istockphoto.com/search/text/christmas/source/basic#104669bb

Stephanie Roberts: For Mission Critical Software, I Prefer the SaaS Solution

Stephanie Roberts is a web developer who has designed and maintains websites for over 150 clients. Many of these are eCommerce sites. Today she shares with us her experience with Avactis.

Emily: You have several stores built using Avactis software. What do you like best about Avactis?

Stephanie: I love many things about Avactis, but the two things I love most are:

1. How easy it is for me to set up. I can easily edit the site design to suit my clients, import their data, and have a store up and running in just a few hours.

2. How easy it is for the client to learn to manage the back end. Everything is very neat and organized, with everything pertaining to a particular product right there on the product pop-up window, and conveniently tabbed so it's easy to find.

Emily: You host some of your stores on your own server, and some on the Avactis server. Do you notice any difference in website performance?

Stephanie: The sites I host on dedicated servers, with initial server tweaking provided by the Avactis support team, run very well. The ones I host in a shared hosting environment do not. Recently I tried Avactis hosting and it seems to run very well. It is more economical than dedicated hosting, and any upgrades are done by the Avactis team.

Emily: Why did you decide to try Avactis hosting?

Stephanie: In this particular instance, the cost of a dedicated server was outside the client's budget, but the Avactis shopping cart features were a perfect fit. So I suggested we use the Avactis hosting.

Emily: What is your opinion of SaaS (Software as a Service) solutions? Do you think they could become more popular than downloadable software?

Stephanie: I LOVE software as a service. I use it in different forms every day. When you consider the man hours and potential downtime incurred by software and hardware upgrades, failures, incompatibilities and other things that can occur, you’ll appreciate the "set it and forget it" service SaaS provides. It lets me concentrate on gaining new business, rather than running my business.

Emily: What kind of software do you prefer, downloadable or SaaS? Why?

Stephanie: Honestly, it depends on the type of software. For mission critical software, I prefer the SaaS solution. It’s reliable and secure, and that’s what matters if your business depends on it to run. If the software is not mission critical, then I prefer the economy of owning it.
That’s what’s great about Avactis...you have the option to choose!

Emily: What are your plans for the future in eCommerce?

Stephanie: I will add Avactis Hosting to my list of solutions. I think my clients will feel secure knowing their website is in the hands of the very people that designed the software. That will give me less to worry about, so I can go out and sell more sites!

Emily: Here are some examples of the web sites created by Stephanie: http://animalhatcreations.com/, http://www.fortsmithsurgicalsupply.com/index.php

How do you choose an SSL certificate?

When you open an online store, one of the most important things to consider is web site security. If you’re going to accept payments via credit cards, an SSL certificate is a must. But with the wide variety of certificates available, which one to choose? Good question. Some organizations need SSL simply for confidentiality, e.g. encryption. Some organizations wish to use SSL to enhance trust in their security and identity, so customers know they have been vetted and are a legitimate organization.

Let’s take a closer look at several types of certificates, using Comodo SSL certificates as examples.

1. Comodo Essential SSL is an inexpensive and fast domain validation. It is available to both individuals and legal entities. The Essential SSL verifies your ownership of the domain but does not authenticate the organization behind the online business. An SSL certificate secures one specific domain.

2. Comodo Instant SSL is available to both individuals and legal entities. It validates both the domain name and company details before issuance. This certificate secures one specific domain.

3. Comodo EV (Extended Validation) is available only for legal entities. The vetting process is more extensive than for any other type of security certificate: it verifies your organization's identity, the validity of your request and the overall legitimacy of your business. One feature is that the URL address bar turns green so your customers can easily see that they’re protected.

I would like to note one more SSL certificate – the Rapid SSL certificate. This offers a low-cost domain validating solution, which is easy to install and requires no paperwork. Unlike Comodo SSL certificates it does not have Mobile Device Compatibility, making Rapid SSL an ideal solution for companies that need basic security.

Which certificate to choose is entirely up to you. Just don’t forget: if security is not your priority, customers may choose not to trust you.

New Features of Google Analytics

Google announces a release of new version of Google Analytics within a few weeks. New version of Google Analytics is going to be extremely useful for online store owners. It allows real-time reporting, campaigns tracking, flow visualization and much more.


Google Analytics Real-Time

Real-Time reporting shows you what's happening on your site - right now! The reports are updated continuously and each pageview is reported seconds after it occurs on your site. You'll find Real-Time reports in the "Home" tab.


Multi-Channel Funnels

See which channels your customers interacted with during the 30 days prior to converting or purchasing. Conversion path data includes interactions with many media channels, including clicks from paid and organic searches, affiliates, social networks, and display ads.

Video demo & Usage guide.


Mobile Reporting

More and more, visitors are using mobile devices to browse the web. Mobile reports in the new version of Google Analytics help you understand how mobile visitors are interacting with your site. You can even see which mobile devices your visitors use and optimize for those devices.


Flow Visualization

Flow Visualization is a beautifully designed and highly sophisticated tool for graphically showing how visitors navigate through your site. We've completely re-imagined and redesigned the navigation tools available in the old version of Google Analytics.

Video demo & Usage guides for Visitor Flow, Goal Flow.

Interview: Jenny Seddon’s E-Commerce Experience

Jenny has been an Avactis customer for several years. In this interview she shares her experience using Avactis for her online stores.

Emily: Please tell us a little about your business. Are you a web developer?
Jenny: I'm not a web developer (although I could now confidently create an Avactis store for pretty much anyone). I'm a graphic designer, but wanted to build a store in my spare time. So I decided to sell gift hampers (www.alderwoodhampers.co.uk) because I enjoy creating interesting and unusual gifts. I can also use my design and print knowledge to economically produce marketing and packaging materials for the business. For instance, our hamper boxes are just plain regular shoe box-size boxes; however, we dress them up with beautiful sleeves which the customer can choose themselves to create a stunning and original gift. Our products have evolved over the last year or so to include individual gifts as well as hampers. The prevailing themes, though, are gourmet cuisine, kitchen giftware and hampers.

Emily: What is your favorite thing about Avactis?
Jenny: My favorite thing about Avactis is that it’s remarkably easy to achieve a functional website - whether you’re a rank amateur or a real geek. Once the software is installed, you can actually have your site up and running in an hour or two using the pre-installed site templates. It's that easy. And you can make as many (or as few) adjustments to the layout and design as you like.

Emily: How did you hear about Avactis? Why have you chosen it for your websites?
Jenny: I came across Avactis by chance - there was a free trial included in an e-commerce magazine. I downloaded it, loved it, and the rest is history! Since then I have created around half a dozen e-commerce sites using Avactis.

Emily: Was it hard to start using the Avactis Shopping Cart?
Jenny: I found it reasonably simple - despite the fact that I NEVER read instructions or technical manuals! I created my first e-commerce site purely by the seat of my pants :-)

Emily: How would you rate Avactis compared to other shopping carts?
Jenny: I only have experience with OSCommerce, which frankly I found bewildering.

Emily: What do you think should be improved in Avactis software?
Jenny: Hmm, that's a tricky one, really - the software is getting better and better all the time. Whenever I do come across any problems, I just visit the Avactis Live Chat and chat with one of the techies - they're VERY knowledgeable and can sort out most problems.

Emily: What are the main things to know when you start an online business?
Jenny: Take advantage of the Avactis installation service: it saves a lot of stress and doesn't cost much. Keep an eye on your competition's websites and make your site better than theirs. Give serious thought to how you'll DELIVER your products, and to how you plan to accept PAYMENT for your products.

Emily: Do you have any advice to those about to open an online store?
Jenny: Be realistic - just because you have an online store, it doesn't mean that you'll automatically receive orders overnight. Even though Avactis software has excellent SEO capabilities, you have to generate targeted traffic independently, so you'll need to budget for some PPC, too. Keep adjusting and updating your home page offers, just like a real shop window does. Make the navigation as SIMPLE as possible to avoid abandoned sales.

Interview: The most important aspects of e-commerce, by Mary-Ellen McAllister

Meet Mary-Ellen McAllister, owner and CEO of MV Media Web Solutions. Here, she shares her experience using Avactis software and gives her tips on how to create a good web site.

Emily: Mary-Ellen, please tell us a little about your business.

Mary-Ellen: MV Media Web Solutions is a web solutions company. We are experts in WordPress and helping our clients market their online and offline presence.

Emily: How did you learn about Avactis and why did you choose it for your online store?

Mary-Ellen: I have a client that needed a great shopping cart. I did a lot of research and stumbled upon an Avactis ad. When all was said and done, Avactis had the right solution for my client.

Emily: Do you manage the web site yourself? If yes, was it difficult for you to learn the system?

Mary-Ellen: I manage the website for my client. There was a learning curve, but we made use of the support system and have acquired all the tools that we need to grow our product offerings. The changes that Avactis is making to the cart are a considerable improvement over the original version we had. My client loves the way the cart works, and the SEO is much better than that of his old Drupal website.

Emily: Do you use Avactis services to support your website?

Mary-Ellen: I have used Avactis support, and have had excellent results with everything I have asked them to do.

Emily: What do you think is most important in the business of e-Commerce?

Mary-Ellen: Accessibility and ease of use from a site visitor standpoint are the most important aspects of e-commerce. Prospective buyers will move on to another site if they cannot find what they are looking for quickly and easily.

Emily: What is your formula for a successful online store?

Mary-Ellen: My formula for a successful store is simple: it must be attractive, and it must be easy to find what you’re looking for.

Thank you, Mary-Ellen. We hope that you’ll create more Avactis-based online stores, especially now that we have a new plug-in for WordPress sites. We look forward to hearing about your experience with integrating the Avactis shopping cart into WordPress sites.

Integrate your store with Joomla

One of Avactis’ main features is easy storefront integration with existing designs.

We now offer a new, free extension that lets you easily integrate the Avactis storefront within your existing Joomla website.

You can continue using your favorite CMS with your favorite design theme. Just add an e-commerce feature to it and start selling.

Our Joomla extension contains a new, specially designed skin and a Joomla component, making it simple to integrate your Joomla site with Avactis. All the main features, including the shopping cart, categories, product details and checkout, will work inside your Joomla site.

Starting now, you can use all Avactis features with your Joomla CMS.

Main features include:

- Product categories
- Product details
- Shopping cart
- Customer account registration
- Wish list
- Promo codes
- Gift certificates
- Complete checkout integration (one-page checkout)
- Ability to integrate your storefront with Facebook (using Avactis extensions)
- Email subscriptions and built-in marketing tools

Click here to view a demo and download the Joomla component

Register for Free Webinar on integration of Avactis with Joomla