Domain Name Registration Promotion ONLY $9.99

I was just thinking earlier today that I should start a post series on DEALS that can be found on our products and services. Honestly with everything going on and all the bad news you might here about the economy, you have to cut costs. Well, I've got the inside track and I wanted to make sure to pass along anything I might find that is an exceptional deal.

It's not like it's a big secret, but the company I work for does not sell the cheapest domain names on the market. What might get misunderstood along the way is that we have never attempted to do so. It took me a while to understand this distinction, but most other web services business lose money on the domain name transaction in the hope that the client will sign up for hosting and / or e-commerce and other services. Simply put, the cheap registrars commonly lose money on each renewal and registration. Though that saves the client money in the short term, it makes the registrar's business model harder to sustain when they are identified as a registrar only. We are not just a registrar and we are not normally a source for cheap domains. We are a service-based solution for small business owners who like to know they are dealing with someone who knows what they're doing and is going to be around for awhile.

So when a company working in that direction can still offer a semi-secret promotion on domain names for only $9.99, it should cause some heads to turn. Let me say that again a different way.

Register A New Domain Name With Network Solutions for only $9.99!

And that's not at that special price only when bundled with other products and services OR when you mention a special code word OR sign up for our newsletter. We normally give a free domain when you sign up for one year of service, but this goes one step further. It seemed super special to me, especially if you want to take advantage of the new free business profiles included with each domain.

If what you want is cheap, go pay for cheap and settle for cheap. But if you want a premiere provider and to get a discounted price at signup, reconsider Network Solutions. We are not, nor have we ever been out to swindle anyone. Instead we tell you exactly what you get and what you will pay for it. Our prices are usually higher because our services are better. We are striving forward. You will be pleasantly surprised.

Keep in mind that this site is not a company mouthpiece and I am not just passing something along to help us, but I want to help you. I talk to e-commerce merchants every day and I'm concerned about their well being and their bottom lines. Frankly some of them have more bravery and guts than I do. But more than that, I like to write about the internet and specific stuff related to e-commerce, not just my job. Please know that it won't always be about Network Solutions. But when there's a deal like this one, I cannot keep it to myself. The catch? It ends right before midnight on March 19^th, so you better hurry.

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.

Migration Has Begun

The massive work project of migrating E-commerce software version 4.x to version 7.2 has begun in earnest this week. It's going to get crazy busy around here. Although my role is not directly involved in inbound calls or tickets, but monitoring inbound calls and scoring them for quality, I am tasked with helping out as much as I can when necessary.

As I have predicted, the main brunt of the reaction so far mainly deals with the 'newness' factor. The merchants are accustomed to running their business and web site a certain way on a daily basis and the new system is laid out very differently. Certainly, the most glaring issues are features that were in version 4.x, but are not yet in version 7.2. Some of them are coming soon, but some of them will never be implimented. There is a certain moment of "Why'd You Remove That Feature?!" that occurs, but it's not insurmountable.

What surprises me are the slightly nitpick requests for minor changes that from a certain point of view seem really irrelevant. Software improvements that would benefit all clients using version 7.2 --even those clients that have never seen version 4.6-- are very important and going to get put at the top of the list. But examples that are mundane or easily ignored make me scratch my head. For instance, in v4, when a merchant viewed their orders the customer's shipping information was on the right and their billing information was on the left. However, version 7 has this on the opposite side. If you have a whole team of employees and they're used to it on the other side, this might be a feature request that would seem important. But hopefully everyone understands that this is not make or break.

As an analogy, imagine that I'm going to take away your old jalopy of a vehicle and replace it with a fancy hot rod sports car with all the modern features. It's gonna be the most spectacular ride you've ever sat in, let alone driven. However, there's just one problem. It was made in Germany for British customers. The driver's side is on the right side rather than the left. So, would you sheepishly ask me about this feature? Would you request that it be moved back to the other side like you are used to? Heck no! You'd get in that kitten and make it purr. (...did I really just type that? Yuck.)

This new software is that hot rod. It's the hot rod that everyone's been waiting for. The uninitiated would assume that the whole left/right thing wouldn't even warrant a mention among other more important improvements that are already coming soon. The uninitiated would be wrong...

• Billing/shipping Information
• Please Put The Billing And Shipping Address In Standard Position

Don't get me wrong. I'm not judging these requests and I'm not in a position at the company to affect the decisions on what features get implemented and which ones don't. I'm thankful for that too, as it is likely a stressful position. I guess I'd just like to say that version 7 is damn good and I'm ready to evangelize it to anyone who will listen.

My favorite response to the new version? Check this out.

[The old version]... was working, why change? Did anybody ask for this change? Who said, things are running very smooth, lets screw everything up! How do we switch back to the previous version? [more details]

Who asked for change? Well, I'm really trying not be too blunt here, but you did. Yes, you: Mr. or Mrs. John Q. Client. Our clients as a group were asking for large feature changes across the board and our software development team has delivered those:

• Better stability
• Better SEO features
• Better integration with QuickBooks®
• Keyword URLs
• Better WYSIWYG editor
• ...and ridiculous amounts of little usability improvements all over the place!

Certainly there have been some hiccups along the way --as there will be in any major upgrade like this. I don't know how many times I need to repeat this, but the entire e-commerce platform was re-written from the ground up, starting with code line one. Does this mean that certain more obscure features, such as an export tailor-made for Endicia, might not be implemented right away? Yes. Does this mean that these very very intelligent and adaptable merchants and business owners will have to adjust to new ways of working? Yes! Once they get over that hump will they have the best solution that money can buy? Well, you be the judge. I already know my answer.

Common Sense eCommerce » MonsterCommerce Upgrading to Network Solutions Shopping Cart

Via Technorati, I found a blog post reporting some information about the coming software migration and update. It gives a pretty good perspective.

This is news that has been bubbling for quite some time. If you have a MonsterCommerce website, you probably already know that Version 4x is being supplanted by Version 7x. As the jump in version numbers indicates, this is not a minor update. In fact, it’s not an update at all but a full migration to a different platform.

View the full post at Common Sense eCommerce.

However, there was one opinion I didn't agree with and I felt I had to respond to this post with the following.

I agree with most of what you wrote except for this - "If you are considering MonsterCommerce [snipped] this would be a good time to wait things out."

I posted more (which is waiting in moderation), but you should go to Frank's site to read it. From my understanding of this, his suggestion was that our company is going through a rough transition and this would not be a good time to sign up. Whereas the migration and upgrade ahead for our v4.6 clients will possibly involve some deep hand-holding and patience from both sides --as it would with any transition of this magnitude-- clients that are already on the new platform or that are considering using our services will not be affected.

I hope that clears up what I meant to say. Read more from Frank Ross' Common Sense eCommerce.