Freelance Jobs

Even though we offer design services for our e-commerce clients, our software also generates a good bit of business for freelancers.

Looking for a developer to turn PSD layouts into pages to work with Network Solutions MonsterCommerce. There is an existing site, we are adding the custom store functionality and we need an experienced eComm developer to set it up.

Due to the project we cannot post links to existing site but will supply a full project scope so developer can properly estimate turnaround and costs.

Read the full details at FreelanceSwitch.com.

Just a Few Lines of Code...

Whenever someone says (somewhat flippantly),..

Why can't your developers just add that feature really quickly? It's just a few lines of code.

I need to have an example of why this is obviously false. It makes total instinctive sense to me despite the fact that I'm not a developer, but for other people it may take convincing examples.

Here is my first one. Please read Favicon Hell: Small Feature, Big Code.

E-Commerce: Going From Startup to a Large-Scale Corporation

I just found out my long-time friend and coworker, J.D. had started a blog relevant to our history with Network Solutions and .

Hello everyone. I just wanted to create a blog to share my knowledge about e-commerce with the rest of the world. I've been involved in e-commerce for about 5 years now, and I've learned quite a bit throughout the process. I'll get to that stuff later. For now, I want to give you a background of my experience of going from a small company to a large corporation.

I started out working for a company called MonsterCommerce back in January of 2003. I started when they brought tech support in house, and was one of 13 people working there at the time. I have been through the struggles of a small company, and helped it develop into a medium-sized business with a couple hundred employees. I've seen all the growing pains associated with that development.

For those of you that don't know, MonsterCommerce was purchased by the giant company of Network Solutions in 2006, and a lot has changed since then as well. So I've seen what most small businesses go through, all the way to a large-scale corporation, and all over the course of just over 5 years.

Read the whole entry at E-Commerce: Going From Startup to a Large-Scale Corporation.

MonsterMarketplace - Decorating for Thanksgiving

It turns out that our MonsterMarketplace has some awesome ideas for Decorating for Thanksgiving and Your Thanksgiving Feast.

Happy Thanksgiving everybody!

Elephant Pooh Paper

Our e-commerce software can be used to sell such a wild variety of products that it sometimes boggles the mind what we see every day.

While elephant dung is a seemingly unusual source of paper pulp, it actually makes a great paper. Since an elephant’s diet is all vegetarian, the waste produced is basically raw cellulose. Thoroughly cleaned and processed, the cellulose is converted into a uniquely beautiful textured product, marketed as "Ellie Pooh Paper". This acid free, linen-like papyrus-type paper can be formed into art and construction projects, notebooks, cards and assorted gift items where the only limitation is ones imagination.

Phase 3: Profit!

At first it sounded like a bad idea, but after reading the description and the process used to create it, it sounded intriguing to say the least. It would make a great conversation piece and it's environmentally friendly. What more could you ask for? Visit MulberryPaperAndMore.com to learn more about paper made from elephant dung.

Net Bombarded by Heaviest Ever Attacks

We've had some intermittent network issues across a decidedly small (but vocal) section of our clients. I'm far removed from both the problem and solution right now, so I am not qualified to comment on it. But I hear the problems are difficult to duplicate from our end, indicating that it is not for certain an issue on our server, but instead an issue with the networks connecting to our our network. Could general security malware traffic on the Internet be causing the problem? You decide. See the Tech News on ZDNet.

Regardless, we are doing everything we possibly can to address the different problems (because they are very different issues presenting the same or similar symptoms). Whatever is in our team's control to resolve we will get it done. I apologize to anyone experiencing errors or performance problems and want to reassure you that we are getting it taken care of.

Solutions Stars: The Social Opportunity

Network Solutions produced another video to benefit our clients who are mostly small business owners.

Here is the description from the video.

Small businesses have a fantastic opportunity to bypass conventional media and advertising to directly reach their stakeholders. Whether that's through social networks or blogs, entrepreneurs and marketers can engage their conversations in one on one relationships.

Join us on October 29th at 1pm Eastern for this free, live video conference. You'll hear from 34 renowned small business and online marketing experts. Details at www.solutionsstarsvideo.com.

HTML or XHTML: Does It Really Matter?

Long time web-developers fluent in HTML may not immediately grasp the difference or the importance. Here is a snippet.

XHTML is a reformulation of HTML. The main difference is a few simple rules - as XHTML is more strict than standard HTML. This article reviews how XHTML can be used to create better Web sites.

Check out the full article and download the .PDF on LinkTogether.com.

Create a Website - What You Need to Get Online

It can seem difficult to explain to the uninitiated the steps needed to get a website online. It's not actually difficult, but there is a checklist of things that should be followed each time and it can be confusing to navigate. Here is a video that Network Solutions put together that makes it much clearer.

Here's the video description.

Learn how to create a website and improve your web presence. Understand how to get online and how domains, hosting, SSL, online marketing and email work together.

That makes it pretty simple.

Do websites need to look exactly the same in every browser?

Ask yourself the simple question. Do websites need to look exactly the same in every browser?.

LinkTogether.com Launches!

Network Solutions just launched a new Beta community portal that I'm pretty excited about.

Web Developer Community for Designers, Developers, and Coders | LinkTogether

As the title suggests, this site is for web professionals of all varieties.  Unlike MySolutionSpot, which is for business professionals and marketers, and the more general Network Solutions Forums for clients using our hosting or e-commerce products, LinkTogether addresses a specific need and community. 

What I really like about the image featured on the home page is that it shows a bit of the behind-the-scenes process of creating and building LinkTogether prior to it's launch.  You have a conceptual whiteboard with the current features "Today" and the roadmap spelled out in "Next Steps." 

I'm not in a department that deals with the LinkTogether planning and development, but the great thing is that this niche community will grow itself and is already getting some active members. I can't wait to see where this will go.

If this new community sounds familiar, it was originally posted about on Solutions Are Power. Go check it out!

UPS Worldship in Version 7

Anyone looking for a way to continue to use UPS Worldship in Network Solutions E-commerce version 7 should see the following recent forum thread: Ups Shipping CSV to XML. It seems that the instructions posted in the last post might be able to get this to work. Obviously, since it relies on a third party converter tool, this is not really a supported feature. But for the time being it might prove useful.

Migration Checklist [PDF]

The migration checklist file has been updated. Get it if your site has not yet migrated!

Migration in Full Swing!

If our e-commerce clients have not yet migrated from version 4 to version 7 as of today, it is highly likely that they will soon. Here is some updated information on our Network Solutions E-commerce Support Site, as well as some new Technical Documentation and Frequently Asked Questions.

It's busier than it has ever been right now. But despite the heavy pace and longer than normal hold times, we are doing quite well based on what I can see.

Jimmy John's For Lunch

When days are extremely busy like they are today, the management team likes to help out by springing for lunch. Invariably, this is usually Jimmy John's or pizza. Today, I will order the tuna.

Ten Popular Features of Version Seven

Here's something I put together for a coworker. In no particular order...

• Customizable Keyword URLs - Beneficial for both users and search engines...
• SEO Fields - Meta / title tags independent of product/category names...
• Customizable 301 Redirects - delete / move pages with confidence
• Advanced Reporting - sales, tax, searches - includes Google Analytics Integration
• Design Sandbox - Manage multiple designs that can be managed and previewed
• Integrated Customizable Forms - Feedback / Contact / Reply
• Shareable Shopping Lists
• Included Import / Export Utility
• Quickbooks Integration
• Customizable Shipping - including regional management and real-time integration
• Extensive Personalization and Variation options

Technically this is 11. But just like Spinal Tap, sometimes you have to have that little something extra. Read more details at Network Solutions E-commerce.

Ask an Expert: Building a better website - USATODAY.com

It's fun to see a coworker mentioned in a USAToday article.

This brings me to the second factor — e-marketing. I spoke about this subject — online small business success — last week with Jeff Zimmerman, the Vice President of Product Management for Online Marketing and E-Commerce for Network Solutions.

The article writer does a good job with the short interview and also brings in some of his own personal experience creating a web site. There are a few revealing tips to succeeding online. The article also mentions our new tool for entrepreneurs at MySolutionSpot.com.

Check out the full article at USATODAY.com.

Took The Dive

Oh, and did I forget to mention that I took the dive and my family and I are starting our own e-commerce site? I figured I might as well let this e-commerce knowledge that has been gathering over the past 5-- 6! years go towards some benefit outside of my official job role. Please check out and critique my work at Happy ★ is ★ the ★ Bride.com. My wife has an interest in the wedding planning business and this is the beginning of that outlet. Please comment here on this blog post with your feedback regarding the site and I will respond.

Search Box On Htm Page

This form can be set up on a custom HTML page off-site of the e-commerce page. Here is the code that I used:

<form name="search" method="GET" action="http://happyisthebride.com/search.aspx">
<input type="text" name="find" size="22">
<input type="image" img src="http://happyisthebride.com/themes/migration-2/images/buttons/mod_btn_go.gif" name="btnSearch">
</form>

Version 7 Templates

Clients about to migrate to version 7 should check out the new pre-built templates. You can preview the new templates by going to the demo store and logging in using guest / Netsol1. Then go to Design > Site Design > Templates. However, I thought it'd be easier to just post some thumbnails for all of them. These each link to larger versions.

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Apparel

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Babies & Kids

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The original question was posted here - Migrated Sites - MonsterSmallBusiness Forums.