I just posted a quick note about infographics and a link to one I saw on Digg about the history of the internet. But on the source site, I also saw this additional graphic that gives a very detailed overview of ecommerce.
[Source: OnlineMBA.com]
Be sure to check that out.
The past couple of weeks have been busy. Among many other things, both planned and unplanned, we had a major update to the storefront.
Additionally, we also had a software upgrade for all of our ecommerce packages --timed to coincide with the update above. Please see the Ecommerce 7.7 Release Notes on the forums for more details.
There was also an ecommerce security alert released at the end of July that we are notifying all merchants about. Please visit the site for more information.
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.
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 19th, so you better hurry.
I can deliver a press release on my blog right?
Network Solutions makes conducting online business easier with the release of its latest E-Commerce Pro Website Creator package. A number of advancements have been integrated into the new version of the award-winning e-commerce solution to simplify the task of maintaining an online store.
(PRWEB) – Nearly 10,000 online stores are already powered by Network Solutions e-commerce products, which helped sell over $650 million in products and services during 2006. In order to help even more small businesses set up and run an online store, Network Solutions has just released a new version of its award-winning E-Commerce Pro Web Site Creator package. The new E-Commerce Pro v7.0 Web Site solution is an easy-to-use, one-stop tool that allows users to construct a customized online store, accept and process orders, drive traffic, and increase sales. New features and benefits in v7.0 give online entrepreneurs the power and flexibility to quickly meet their online business needs in a more straightforward and organized way via powerful yet easy to use tools right at their fingertips.
New features that are incorporated into the new E-Commerce Pro v7.0 product include a new set-up checklist that facilitates the process of a store set-up by guiding the user from start to finish. The redesigned control panel user interface makes everything easier to find and use, with a new look and feel to allow for faster, simplified design and launch time. The new point-and-click Web site design editor is easier and more flexible, incorporating click-and-drag options and potential customization of all pages. The Web site design editor gives users the ability to manage and make changes to the site design at any time. Newly integrated Search Engine Optimization (SEO) tools can help the site get higher rankings on the major search engines, thanks to a built-in sitemap and search engine friendly URLs for product and category pages.
The release of the Network Solutions® E-Commerce Pro v7.0 software is designed to help small businesses succeed online,
says Jeff Zimmerman, Vice President of Product Management at Network Solutions. New features added to our already award-winning E-Commerce Web Site package make it as easy as possible for our customers to set up their online business and manage it from day one with ease.
This award-winning e-commerce solution is designed for small business owners who want a fully customizable site design, as well as the ability to boost sales with incentives such as promotions, coupons and discounts. Network Solutions new Pro E-Commerce Web Site package is available at $99.95 a month with a $99 one-time set-up fee. To speak to a customer service representative for more information, please call 1-888-252-3266.
Network Solutions® is a leading provider of e-commerce Web site hosting with an all-encompassing suite of products for small businesses, including domain, e-commerce, free hosting, name registration, Web promotion and other Internet solutions and strategies. With 28 years in the Web services industry, Network Solutions is committed to providing businesses simple and cost-effective web-based solutions. For more information on business to consumer and business to business e-commerce solutions, visit NetworkSolutions.com.
Whenever there is an upgrade to a new version of any software program, inevitably there is some amount of confusion with the new system. It is up to the technical support department to help ferry clients to a new understanding of the new system. One of the most commonly asked questions we will hear regards features that were being used in the previous version but that aren't available or readily apparent (or as easy to use) in the new version.
Why would you remove a feature that our business depends on?! I used that every day!
I certainly understand the frustration here. This happens commonly to me with other software programs and I experienced it very strongly in the upgrade from Microsoft Office 2000 to Microsoft Office XP. There was a certain undocumented feature that I used quite often that was not in Office XP. It was several weeks or more of adjustment on my part to get used to the change.
Having seen this side of the software development cycle, I have a little more perspective on it, but I still find it annoying. The cause of these sorts of issues is that the development department is creating a new product from scratch. In most cases like this, the feature that is being referenced wasn't specifically left out on purpose. There wasn't a board meeting where some group decided which features to nix. Instead, there were several meetings where they reviewed usage and importance and functionality of each new feature to be added versus the time and resources that were available to release the product. The important point to take away is that there are always business-based decisions behind every step in the plan, and although that might hurt or inconvenience some clients in the short term it is not done personally. If the option is major critical to users it will be implemented in upgrades to the new system down the line.
This does beg the argument that perhaps it is better to fix current versions and not create a completely new version from scratch, but there are many other considerations to consider here that have to be taken into account. For instance, perhaps the current version of the software uses ASP, but the new version will be written with ASP.NET and gain all the benefits there. You can't simply take the code of the old version and update it as it wouldn't work on the new hardware. So instead you start with code line zero.
It sucks. But it's the nature of the beast.
Today was a milestone for the technical support department. We have been using one system for ticket support since about 2004 or so. The front end area that our clients see is located at MyMonsterCommerce. We reached the two-hundred and fifty-thousandth ticket today. This is a neat figure from my perspective as I was there for ticket number one in this system. In fact, I recall the system we used before that though it's name escapes me. Back then, we just called it "molasses" because that's how fast it went.
Our current system has served us well for many years, but what's most important about this milestone is that it is one quarter of a million phone calls and customer service problems solved by the best e-commerce support team in the industry.
Several great things have happened in the last 24 hours or so that I feel like celebrating.
Haven't seen our home page in a while? Stop by at MonsterCommerce.com. You can see screen shots as well as a graphical demo.
One quick notable thing I like about the new version of our software coming out soon (THIS WEEKEND!) is that it is much more W3C compliant. Just now, I did a form upload of my test site's home page HTML output and it only generated 3 errors! Visit the W3C Markup Validator.
There are a lot of other great things too, but this is something that appeals to the perfectionist in me.
Be wary of every bill that comes in the mail.
Domain name renewal scams have been going on for years. Typically, the scammer sends a fake invoice in the mail or an e-mail that says a domain renewal fee needs to be paid or the domain will be deleted. By paying the "invoice", you are actually agreeing to transfer your domain to the scammer's registrar.
This is a very bad practice that has been around for awhile, but it must still be effective because people are still doing it. Read more at Domain Name Wire » News » New Domain Name Renewal Scam Hits Inboxes - The Domain Industry's News Source
These remote scripting demonstrations can be viewed in more detail on this MonsterCommerce QuickGuide: Using Remote Scripting
This link opens in a new window (using target="_blank"):
Add a Mini RC Police Car from Mini-RC-Cars.net.
This link opens in the same window:
Add a Mini RC Police Car from Mini-RC-Cars.net.
This was posted internally today.
Network Solutions and Google will offer a Webinar entitled "Discover a New Audience with Pay Per Click."
Held on Thursday, July 26, 2007 at 2pm Eastern Daylight Time, this Webinar will be moderated by Lara Mehanna from the Online Marketing team at Network Solutions, and Lauren Frandsen of Google AdWords.
This Webinar is designed to introduce pay per click services (PPC) to business owners who may not understand how important use of a pay per click company can be in an online marketing campaign. The moderators of this Webinar will explain the differences between PPC and organic search marketing, how to spotlight a business online, and how to obtain targeted leads while improving click-to-close rates. Mehanna and Frandsen will also detail the advantages of PPC in measuring the methods of delivery from search engine to site, as well as the quick turnaround and return of investment given by a successful PPC campaign.
"Pay per click advertising is really a great way for companies to get out in the forefront of the market, utilizing a tool that their customers are already using—the Internet," said Jeff Zimmerman, Vice President of Product Marketing and Management with Network Solutions. About 80% of internet traffic begins at a search engine, and Search Engine Marketing (SEM) was an $8.73 billion industry in North America in 2006, with $7.94 billion of that going towards paid searches.
This Webinar will also explain the benefits of going with a pay per click company, rather than trying to manage it in-house, focusing on the expertise needed to properly manage a PPC account, from daily budgeting to keyword research.
To register for the Webinar, visit the the NetSol Event Center.
Here's a press release from Network Solutions that was first distributed today.
Creating an online business requires a lot of research and planning. To aid small business owners in their pursuit for knowledge on how to sell online, Network Solutions' E-commerce experts have written a white paper, "8 Steps to Start Selling Online" available on the Network Solutions Storefront.
(PRWEB) – There has never been a better time to start an E-commerce business, which is why Network Solutions® has written a free white paper that offers business owners advice on how to sell their products and services online.
In 2006, according to comScore, consumers spent $102.1 billion online at U.S. based E-commerce sites, which does not include online auction sites, travel spending or corporate purchases,explains Jeff Zimmerman, Vice President of Product ManagementWith so many consumers shopping online, it's imperative that brick and mortar stores and potential new online businesses alike learn the steps involved in effectively selling online.The Network Solutions white paper, "8 Steps to Start Selling Online", is designed for use by people who are either just launching an online business for the first time, or already have a brick-and-mortar store and are venturing online for the first time. Thanks to the many insightful hints and tips presented in this white paper, selling online will be a more feasible prospect to business owners—especially those with little to no expertise managing online shopping cart software. Business owners can gain valuable insight into how to sell online ranging from choosing a relevant domain name to the importance of having a secure Web site.
The white paper points out that an ideal E-commerce Web site should be designed with the end-user (customer) in mind. Although this may seem like common sense, there are many E-commerce sites that let this focus get lost amongst the other considerations like design and navigation. This white paper also outlines how to drive more traffic to your online business via online marketing and search engine optimization. Network Solutions' white paper emphasizes and outlines imperative E-commerce tips like this— both common and obscure.
Creating a Web site for the purpose of selling products or services online entails a large amount of research and planning,says Zimmerman.When starting an online business, forgetting one simple step can make the difference between success and failure.Overall, Network Solutions' "8 Steps to Start Selling Online" white paper is a valuable resource that all business owners should read if they want to effectively learn how to sell online, and make money selling online. As a champion of small business online solutions, Network Solutions truly wants to help small businesses achieve financial success. This is why the white paper covers all E-commerce topics that Network Solutions' experts consider most important. After downloading the Network Solutions whitepaper, business owners should be able to effectively implement these tips. Selling online becomes less risky and more profitable when proper planning, research, and expert advice is applied.
To discover E-commerce tips, selling online strategies and search engine marketing ideas download the "8 Steps to Start Selling Online" off of the Network Solutions storefront, or call Network Solutions customer service at (866) 905-0477 for more assistance.
Find out more at Network Solutions Whitepapers.
Here's a new product from Google that ought to of interest to webmasters looking to boost their paid advertising effectiveness.
Google announced the testing of a new pay-per-action, or PPA, advertising product today. It's important for a number of reasons, not the least of which is the fact that Google controls so much of the online advertising market that just about anything they do in advertising has real consequences around the Internet.
Get started Digesting Google's New PPA Advertising Product.
The following was featured in an internal company wide announcement.
Several employees of the Network Solutions Belleville office have been donating their Saturday mornings to help Neighbors for Renewal in Belleville, a not-for-profit corporation that acquires homes that are in severe disrepair, rehabilitates them using (primarily) volunteer labor, and then makes those homes available for sale at a reduced price to low income qualified families.
The Belleville team of volunteers is currently working every Saturday morning from 9am to 11am rehabbing a home that was built in the early 1800's. The house, when complete, will be used as a community-wide food pantry for the Belleville community. Once this project is complete, the team of volunteers will begin work on another house which will be used by Belleville High School District 201 as a transition house to teach housekeeping skills to autistic and learning impaired students so that they may live independently.
Although it had already "leaked," the news was made officially public today.
Network Solutions Ownership Change Closes on Schedule
Network Solutions, the leading provider of online solutions for small businesses, announced today that General Atlantic, a leading global private equity firm, has completed its transaction to acquire Network Solutions from Najafi Companies (formerly Pivotal Private Equity). Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
Joining the Network Solutions Board of Directors are General Atlantic Managing Directors Mark Dzialga and Anton Levy. Additional directors will be added to the Board in the coming months. Champ Mitchell, chairman and CEO of Network Solutions, and the current Network Solutions management team will continue to lead the company.
Around the office, this was treated with the same manner as generally interesting but not overly important news. If you read the details a bit, you'll notice that General Atlantic purchased Network Solutions from another company whom I'd only heard of in passing. Both are private equity firms.
But there were several clients that posted publically and reacted as if this were more alarming and life-changing news than the purchase of 
Read the full press release at Network Solutions Ownership Change Closes on Schedule and read other important news on the Network Solutions Newsroom.
Here is a very useful article on how to get started with Google Adwords for the first time. An effective web marketing plan will include Pay-Per-Click advertising from the very beginning and Google's system is one of the best to get started with.
Small Biz Resource - How to Attract New Customers With Google AdWords - Small Business Business Analysis
The AdWords program allows you to target your advertising to customers seeking your services by specifying key words with which you'd like to associate your product or service.
The best part is that Google's fee for the service is structured so that you only pay when someone actually clicks on your ad -- and you set a cap on how much you're willing to pay. Assuming that your goods and/or services are satisfying to customers and that they will become repeat consumers, the ability to use Google advertising to draw in new customers has tremendous value for small businesses.
The four-page article walks you through all the necessary steps with some well done screen shots to highlight the features and benefits.
Don't have the time to learn PPC advertising yourself? Have Network Solutions Online Marketing take care of it for you.
As of today, I'm starting back at my old job at MonsterCommerce. It's a long story about where I've been the last few months and I won't be detailing that here.
What I did want to say was that it was very interesting and enlightening to go through new employee training now, after I used to do the new tech support training only a year or so ago. It's actually so much more of an effectivelly formalized process now that it was refreshing and fun.
There has been a few changes internally since I left, too, so it was good to get all of that information in one big chunk rather than anything surprise me later.
Anyway, it's time to get back to work.
Here are some instructions for creating a pop up window on your MonsterCommerce store.
First, You will need to create the page that you want to be the popup. Upload this
.html, or
.htmfile into your root directory of the File Manager.
Second, paste this code into your Site HTML > Message Editor
Third, change the red text below to match the name of your site.
The following Frequently Asked Questions are relevant to the Pro Ecommerce solutions with Network Solutions.
DNS stands for Domain Name Servers. In order for your site to be live at your domain name, your registrar needs to have the domain's record pointed to the proper server, usually at your web host. Until that point, your site will only be available at an IP address or a third-level domain. How to change these settings varies on whether your domain is registered with Network Solutions or not.
Using your Account Manager, select the Pro Ecommerce package from your list of services, and scroll down to a section labled Manage Hosting Domains & SubDomains. You should see a green button labled Assign Domains. Use this to select your domain and assign it. DNS changes will usually take about 24 hours or more to update.
Follow the same steps above, but then when you get to the Assign Domain Names page, click the link to assign a domain that is not listed. Carefully type in the domain name that you want to use and assign it to the store. Once this has been done, the Account Manager will give you some instructions and settings for your DNS at the registrar. As above, DNS changes will usually take about 24 hours or more to update.
Setting up categories for your new site is very simply. Once logged into the Storefront Admin Panel, go to the Inventory menu under the Sales Manager area and then select the Category Manager. Using this tool, you can add categories, delete categories or rename categories and also add details to the category pages. Once your categories are done, you can assign products to them using the Product Manager, also under Inventory.
You can also use DataPort to upload product and category information from a spreadsheet on your computer. Learn more about DataPort.
The best resource for adding products is the following QuickGuide - Product Creation - Admin Panel Entry
For a new client, the easiest way to learn about the Product Manager is to edit an existing product, which is why most clients start with a Sample product. Go to Inventory > Product Manger and use the Search feature at the bottom of the menu. Leave the box blank and hit 'Search'. You should then see the one Sample product with three links to the right of it; Edit, Basic Edit and Delete. Use the Basic Edit to get started and familiar with the system. You will see two tabs; General and Images. You can customize this product and see where the text shows up by using the link at the bottom of the General tab to view the product.
You can also use DataPort to upload product and category information from a spreadsheet on your computer. Learn more about DataPort.
You can do quite a bit of customization to the store template. You should start in Layout > Theme Builder and then customize your chosen theme from there in the HTML and Layout menus. The best references for modifying your site's theme are the following QuickGuide pages -
Technical support is available 24 hours a day and 7 days a week. If you are in your Network Solutions administration panel, you can create an express service request, or you can call our technical support team at 888.252.ECOM.
Checkout can be customized to add additional questions with the Checkout > Checkout Questions menu. You can also learn more about customizing checkout with the following QuickGuides -
If you will be accepting credit cards online and do not have any other method for completing the transaction (such as a physical terminal), then you will need a Merchant Account and an online Payment Gateway. But you do not need to use MonsterMerchantAccount specifically. If you do not yet have a gateway, however, it is recommended. Our software is also compatible with many other gateways, including but not limited to the following.
You can set up your email addresses from your Network Solutions Account Manager home page. In your list of services, look for Hosting Package E-mailboxes. Set some up and there are several links from there to set them up using any POP3 email client (like Microsoft Outlook).
If you didn't already register your domain name when you first signed up, you will want to the Network Solutions home page and search for the name you want and then follow the steps to purchase it. Once you have this name in your account, you can assign this domain name using the instructions for your DNS settings.
You can make your site live whenever you would like. Once your DNS settings are set for the first time, it can take 24 hours or more to be completed. From there, your site can be live. However, you can also set your site to be Disabled. To manage this setting, go to Admin > Enable/Disable Store and set up a construction page. As long as your store is disabled, unless a user is logged in as administrator, they will only see that construction message.
. However, this blog is not an official property of MC nor our parent company Network Solutions. I'm simply testing out a few things. My goal is to distribute information that should be helpful to small business owners and ecommerce web developers and to share new ideas I learn on a daily basis.
encourages its team members to maintain personal websites and respects their right to self-expression via blogs and other forms of online communication. Of course, employees are still bound by certain terms (including confidentiality and avoiding conflicts of interest) whenever anyone discusses Company-related issues such as our product and service offerings, sales campaigns, current and former personnel, corporate strategies, etc. The views expressed on this site are this employee's alone, and they do not necessarily reflect the views of Network Solutions, its management or its staff.
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but this goes one step further. It seemed super special to me, especially if you want to take advantage of the new 