Features

Easy to Update Website Slideshow

Creating a slideshow for your eCommerce site pages, or home page is incredibly simple using Web Shop Manager™ (WSM) as your content management system (eCommerce CMS). Photo slideshows can be used in a variety of ways to get the attention of site visitors and emphasize special features of the eCommerce site.

For instance, a photo slide show can be used to showcase a new product, or a popular one.  A slideshow located above the fold (shown without a site visitor having to scroll down on the page) is a great way to help people quickly identify what makes your products or services unique.

In addition, contests or special promotions including a coupon code could be highlighted in a slide and then hyperlinked to a site page or eCommerce blog post for more information and details.

Furthermore, if you offer free shipping, or quantity discounts be sure to mention them in the slideshow in order to increase adoption from your customers. Slides could also be made for the seasons and simply hidden when not in use.

As an eCommerce merchant it is your job to explain to your customers as quickly and clearly as possible what makes you different from the competition and why they should chose to work with you. Photo slideshows can help creatively and graphically explain the differentiating facts and put you one step in front of the competition. While helping your customers gain insight into why they should buy from you, slideshow titles can also be SEO optimized to help get found in search engines and bring even more relevant traffic to your eCommerce website.

Creating Slideshows for your eCommerce Site

In order to help our clients be as successful as possible with their eCommerce endeavors WSM is committed to providing tools that are simple, easy, and effective.  Time is finite and the learning process should be short and sweet.  Putting you in complete control of your eCommerce website is something that we take pride in, and make a high priority.  Adding slideshows to your eCommerce website can be a fun, interactive way to engage site visitors and help lead them toward conversion.

Utilizing WSM to its full extent is empowering and once you start to get a feel for how to create slideshows there will be no stopping you!

Creating your Photo Album & Preparing Graphics for your Photo Slideshow

The Photo Gallery Module included with WSM allows you to create photo albums that can be displayed on dedicated site pages, or embedded within content or on the homepage in the form of a slideshow.

To begin to create your slideshow highlight Modules, Click Photo Gallery from your WSM dashboard.

To add a new album, click the Add Album button.

The Add Album screen is discussed in detail below. After you create your album you can return, make changes, and add photos. It is not necessary to have all of your photos ready to upload before you create your album.

Each numbered item is discussed below.

1.Title – This is the name for your album. This name should describe where your album is used and

for what purpose i.e. Home Page Slide Show. Optimize the title for search engines to help get found in SERPs (Search Engine Results Pages).

2. Description – Use the description for additional information about the album. Use this field for reference notes for coworkers.

3. Priority – Priority sets the order the album is displayed in the gallery. Higher priority albums are

placed before items with a lower priority.

4. Parent –This is similar to creating folders and sub folders on your computer. This is useful if have several slide shows such as holiday, or special promotions. If this is the case, you may want to create an album named Slide Shows and add sub albums for each individual show.

5. Template – Several site page templates may have been created for you by the WSM web design team.  If so, you can specify which template is to be used with this drop down.

6. Hidden – Slide shows are special albums used in conjunction with a program on your site (which

the WSM staff will setup for you). If you do not plan to use this album for any other purpose than

Slide Shows with Web Shop Manager, you should select Yes.

7. Add Album – Once you have provided the required information click the Add Album button to

create and save your album. You can always edit the album later if you need to make changes.

Organizing Graphics in your Photo Album

There are many great photo editing tools available to you.  If budget is a concern, try using free tools such as, Sumo Paint, or gimp.  Sumo Paint, and gimp are intuitive and can help you to easily crop, resize, or enhance photos to include in your slide show.  It is important to have slides that share the same dimensions to eliminate skewing, or distortion.  The easiest way to find out what size of graphic you need is to look at an existing slide created by WSM.  If you are using Mozilla Firefox, simply right click, and click on ‘view image info’.  Pixel dimensions will be displayed in a dialogue screen.  If you are in Internet Explorer, right click, and click on ‘properties’ to view pixel dimensions.

Custom photography would be fantastic to include in your slideshow, however if this is not an option for you, take a look at royalty free photo sites like istockphoto.com. Professional looking photos can help differentiate your site from your competitors and will help convey your message graphically. In some cases this can mean the difference in reaching your target market, or missing them completely. 

Adding Photos to your Homepage Slideshow

Once you have made the appropriate changes to your photos, upload them to the slideshow album already created. Here is a brief overview of the buttons available in the Photo Gallery. They are located to the left of each album name.

This icon will allow you to edit the information you entered when you first created the album.

This icon will display sub-albums, if any, that are assigned to this album.

Use this icon to access the photos you have already uploaded to the album and to add photos.

This icon will display the album as a web page. You will not display the album to your viewers in this format.

You can add photos two different ways, individually or multiple files at the same time. Both are available from the same Add Photo screen.

To add photos, as mentioned above, click the   icon.

Adding the Slideshow to your Homepage

In addition to preparing your photos, and then your photo albums for the slideshow there is one more item that needs to be in place for the photo slideshow to be completely functional. This component is called a Widget. The Widget will include parameters that control how the slide show is displayed to your customers.

After reviewing this section if you need assistance with setting up the widget, please contact the WSM support staff.

First, what is a Widget?

Widgets are small programs that make an application or service perform in a specific way. They allow users to access applications without  in-depth knowledge of what is happening behind the scenes. You will need to place a small piece of widget Code for your album to function as a slide show. The slide show can function with a few basic settings. The only code you need to change is the ID and the height of your images, see example below. The ID identifies which photo album you want to use for this slide show. You also need the parameter for slideshow. The parameter is what tells the widget to display the album as a slide show.

To determine the ID for the photo album from within your eCommerce dashboard, highlight Modules and click Photo Gallery. Look in the ID column for the album you created and note the ID number.

To add the widget code to your Site Page, highlight the code below, press Ctrl C to copy, while editing the predetermined Site Page, place your cursor where you would like the slideshow to appear on the front end, then press Ctrl V to paste. Delete the 123 ID and type the ID number for the photo album you have created for the slideshow.

{{ widget name='widget_cycle' gallery='true' id='123' show_prev='false' show_next='false' cycle_controls_top='true' instance='_1' imgsize='F' width='737' height='279' cycle_timeout='8000' cycle_speed='200' cycle_fx='fade' }}

Additional Modifications to your Website Slideshow

You can add additional parameters to your code to change the way your slide show functions and appears. Each setting is described below.

Required Parameters:

gallery: determines that the gallery module is to be used for this widget.
Required value: gallery='true'

instance: recommended to use only if there are one or more instances of the widget that need to be styled differently. It adds a unique div id value to the <ul> tag
Values: numeric or alpha
Example: instance='_myslideshow'

limit: must set a limit on the number of images that get loaded to the slideshow. Max recommended is 5
Values: numeric
Default: unlimited
Example: limit=5

Control the animation and pagination of the slideshow:

cycle_fx: this controls the transition animation between slides. Most of the effects listed here will work: http://malsup.com/jquery/cycle/browser.html for list of effects
Default: fade
Example: fx='slideX'

cycle_timeout: Time between the fades in milliseconds
values: milliseconds
Default Value: 3000 - which equates to 3 seconds
Example timeout = '2000'

cycle_speed:  Fadingspeed
Values: in milliseconds
Default Value: 1000
Example: speed = 2500 - which equates to 2.5 seconds

height: Height of the containing element
Values: Any css-height-value such as px, em, % - recommend doing px value
Default Value:120px - which equals the default thumbnail height
Example: height = '315px'

Pagination Controls:

cycle_pager: determines to show pagination controls
Default: true
Example: cycle_pager='false' - will remove pagination controls

show_prev - used to hide previous button
Default Value: True
Example show_prev='false'

show_next - used to hide previous button
Default Value: True
Example: show_next='false'

cycle_controls_top: move pagination controls to the top. Controls are defaulted to show under the slideshow of images.
Default Value: false
Example: cycle_controls_top='true'

cycle_pager_thumb: pagination links can be the thumbnails of the images
Default Value: false
Example: cycle_pager_thumb='true'
Related parameter:
img_thumb - size of the thumbnail.
Values: T=thumbnail, M=medium, F=fulsize
Default=T
Example: img_thumb='M'

cycle_pager_name: pagination links can be the Name of the image
Default Value: false
Example: cycle_pager_name='true'

cycle_skin_overlay: pagination controls are overlayed on top of theslideshow. Only the Prev and Next links are present.
Default: false
Example: cycle_skin_overlay='true'

Control Link of the images:

The default setting is to use the URL places in the URL field when creating the album image. But you have other options as needed.

link_image: link to the photo view in the album
Default: false
Example: link_image='true'

lytebox: open up the image in a lytebox popup
Default: false
Example: lytebox='true'

Other Parameters:

show_info: show the description of the image
Default: false
Example: show_info='true'

Increase Conversions with Photo Slideshows

Photo Slideshows have been used by eCommerce industry leaders to effectively promote products, and increase sales. Create your own professional looking website slideshow in a matter of minutes with WSM!

If you are looking for a Content Management System & eCommerce Web Design Company to take your business concept and help transform it into a selling machine, contact Web Shop Manager today. We take care of the details so you can concentrate on your e-business.

Have you seen WSM in action yet?  Take a moment to sign up for your own LIVE demonstration.

eCommerce Competitor Analysis Report

A marketing plan should be an integral part of your eCommerce business’ strategy.  There are many ways to start thinking about a marketing plan however; there are two very different schools of thought.  The first is to make decisions based on instinct, while being influenced as little as possible by outside sources.  Do not look at eCommerce competitors, and shoot from the hip. 

The second looks at eCommerce competitors with an analytical eye, breaking down campaigns, and messages to determine where there is room for improvement.  In my experience the most effective way to determine a course of action is by looking at where others have gone, and then making the best decision based on a significant amount of research.

Look for Opportunities

In order to maintain our status as the most comprehensive Web Design Solution, part of our premium eCommerce Web Design Package includes a Competitive Marketing Analysis.  The Competitive Marketing Analysis will assist in providing information about your current or under construction website, amongst a group of peers.  We will also look for any buzz happening currently about your company or brand online, and help you determine where it would make sense to maintain online profiles.  In other words, help to specify where your time and efforts will be the most effective online. 

The first portion of the report will examine Customer Experience, or how your customers are led through the site, and how that effects conversion.  After all, the point of eCommerce is to make money.  Any measure that you can take to increase online sales will be worth looking at further.

In addition, WSM will examine Search Engine Optimization SEO including organic and pay-per-click (PPC) campaigns.  We will include information regarding Meta data and how to use it properly, as well as a glimpse at what your competitors are doing in terms of PPC campaigns.

The third component of the Competitive Marketing Analysis will include a Social Media assessment.  This portion will take into account your current profiles, if any exist, as well as recommendations for profiles including approximate time requirements to help budget appropriately.  You can also expect some tips and tricks, and great examples of jobs well done to learn from.

Looking at what others have done in terms of Customer Experience, SEO, and Social Media will reduce the learning curve and provide relevant examples of what is working well, and what can be improved upon.  This report will provide you with a road map, and a tremendous amount of information to help with your online marketing efforts.

How do you Define Goals if you don’t Know Where you are Starting From?

Without establishing a baseline there will be no way to understand where you should go from here in terms of Internet Marketing.  By assessing your current online presence, and that of a peer group, you will gain a solid understanding of how to help make your company more successful online.  This 20+ page report is an invaluable resource to help solidify your online presence.  This report will help you combine the phenomenal eCommerce features that WSM has with some examples of use that will take your eCommerce business to the next level in no time.

Over the years we have learned what differentiates successful businesses online.  Using that knowledge base we design websites to our client’s specifications making suggestions along the way.  If you need fantastic eCommerce web design & development to set apart your company or brand, look no further for the boutique style web design firm that will take your goals and help them become a reality.  Take the next step and complete our free webdesign quote form, or request a free website analysis to have a small taste of what you can come to expect from an eCommerce partner like WSM.

When I first heard that Web Shop Manager was upgrading to a one page checkout, adding to an already awesome eCommerce web software, I thought to myself, why? What is a 1 page eCommerce checkout? What does it do for my eCommerce business? What does a one page checkout mean to my customers? What makes it a revolutionary one page checkout? What the heck is AJAX, besides a cleaner for my house!? So I completed some research to find my answers and discovered why Web Shop Manger's one page eCommerce checkout using AJAX is a must have for anyone who wants to sell products online!

What is AJAX Single-Page Checkout Software?

We all know that you have to go through a checkout in order to purchase products. Whether you are in a brick and mortar store or online, this process is required. Can you imagine being at the grocery store and having to go to 3 different stations to checkout? The first station, to inform the sales clerk what type of customer you are (existing shopper, new, or a guest). The second station, to provide them with your billing/shipping information and to decide if you need help carrying your products to your car. Then, finally the third station, where you would provide them with the payment for your goods. If this was the case we would probably get fed up and not continue to shop there and see several shopping carts full of food that had been abandoned!

So why do we put up with all those stops when shopping online? Why do we go from page to page providing a little information at a time to get what we want? Well, not everyone does. In fact I found that abandoned shopping carts is a common problem for eCommerce sites. Several independent studies have corroborated cart abandonment rates of up to 75%, while it’s been noted that about half of all prospective customers bail out of their purchases sometime between selecting products and clicking the buy button. Also, research has shown that the longer it takes for a customer to complete a sale, the higher the shopping cart abandonment rate.

Well the great news is with Web Shop Manager’s revolutionary one page, one step checkout your customer’s no longer have to make all those stops. They will go from cart, to checkout/purchased in one step! Web Shop Manager’s one page checkout process allows you to close your sales quickly and easily.

What makes AJAX One Step Shopping Cart work?

You may think to yourself why is this one page checkout such a big deal…I’ve see other one page eCommerce checkouts! But believe me you’ve never seen one as dynamic as this one-page eCommerce checkout! What makes Web Shop Manager truly one page is AJAX!

To help understand AJAX I turned to Wikipedia. Ajax, sometimes written as AJAX (shorthand for asynchronous JavaScript and XML), is a group of interrelated web development techniques used on the client-side to create interactive web applications or rich Internet applications. With Ajax, web applications can retrieve data from the server asynchronously in the background without interfering with the display and behavior of the existing page. The use of Ajax has led to an increase in interactive animation on web pages and better quality of Web services due to the asynchronous mode. Data is usually retrieved using the XMLHttpRequest object. Despite the name, the use of JavaScript and XML is not actually required, nor do the requests need to be asynchronous.

AJAX’s use on the one page checkout enables the checkout to function so your customers do not have to wait for a new page to load or the existing page to reload. The information is evaluated and processed behind the scenes, creating this seamless checkout process. This provides immediate customer feedback and error detection. Allowing your customer to quickly complete the checkout and their eCommerce purchase without stress or frustration.

Why do I want a One Step Checkout?

As an eCommerce site owner you will see a drastic increase in your sales and cart conversions with this enhancement. Effectively and significantly reducing your cart abandonment rates. Existing Web shop manager customers are already experiencing an increase in sales, decrease in shopping cart abandonment and more returning customers.

This revolutionary one page checkout is included when you use Web Shop Manager to maintain your eCommerce site at no additional cost. Also included are several eCommerce features for eBusiness owners. Offering you more tools to manage your orders, see additional information by customer, and advanced searching tools. You decide, based on the products, which fields you don't need. For example, if the product does not require shipping then the customer will not be asked for shipping information.

Combine all this with an already extensive list of eCommerce feature and you will never want to use anything else to manage your eCommerce websites. If there was ever a checkout system that was fun to use, this is it!

Would you like to see for yourself how easy Web Shop Manager's eCommerce CMS is to use? Sign up now for a personal CMS live demonstration.

If you are looking to build a website and are unsure how or where to get started...you've found your starting point. Web Design Solutions (WDS) has everything you need. Whether you are looking to develop an informational site or sell Hundreds, Thousands, or Millions of products online, WDS is your new best friend.

Developing an eCommerce site has many factors to consider from deciding what your pages will look like to thanking your customer for their purchase. One of the greatest benefits to working with WDS is Web Shop Manager (WSM^TM), an unbelievably easy tool you will use to manage your site, list hundreds of products, organize thousands of items, import millions of parts, and communicate with your customers.

First you must have the features all eCommerce sites require which are menus for organizing your products. Of course WSM^TM has a feature for that, Categories. The employees at Web Design Solutions know how important it is for the consumer to easily 'shop' your site, no matter what industry. Consumers demand quick and easy ways to find the products they need. WSM^TM's categories will dynamically build your menus and list the assigned products. Change the category name or easily hide them if you sell seasonal products. So easy! So fast!

Do you have products that come in different size, color, or fragrance and you want your customers to customize the product to fit their need. Then WSM^TM has a feature for that, Product Options. Assigning Product Options to your product allows your customers to add customization during the shopping process. These Product Options give your customer the power to buy the right product for them. Create Product Options with the greatest of ease using WSM^TM.

Have you ever wanted to find a part for your car? With Automotive Aftermarket shopping sites there are thousands of products to sort through. Customers want to find the part they need quickly and easily. WSM^TM has a feature for that, Brands & Attributes.  This feature allows you to easily organize your Automotive Aftermarket parts based on the year, make, and model. Then WSM^TM will display a straight forward search tool for the customer to narrow the products listed base on Year, Make, and/or Model they select. Consider your products SOLD when customers use this tool!

Selling products from several manufactures is exciting and offers your customers several options. However, you may find that customers will want to shop by Brand. You can use WSM^TM's Brands & Attributes eCommerce features for this function as well. Easily create your brand, add a logo for brand recognition, specify the order you want them listed, and dynamically display them on all your site pages. Once you've specified which products belong with which brand your customers can click on the brand they love and browse all of their products.

Do you have Millions of products? Do you think if will take forever to get them on your new site? Are you worried that you do not have the proper staffing to do all the data input? No worries,Product Data Importing is easy with our platform than any other one out there with custom profiles and scheduling you can keep your website data up to date with minimal effort.

For those of you that are in the automotive industry we understand the importance of managing your orders rather than managing products which is why we created a turn key solution with DCI / CatalogRack live integration. Web Shop Manager also comes with import tools for Network Solutions Monster Commerce, Yahoo! Stores, Volusion, osCommerce, Magento, Miva Merchant, Zen Cart, and more....

Any questions or concerns...do not worry WSM^TM has you covered, contact WSM^TM today about your eCommerce needs.

In an effort to make Web Shop Manager more Manufacturer friendly we have added the following features to the Dealer package (some are applicable to all packages)...

• You can now block Dealers or other users from the free shipping option.
• You can now force Dealers or other users to only have Invoice for payment method.
• You can now set special messages for each step of the checkout for the Dealers or user groups.
• Limit certain pages, categories, & products to specific groups.
• You also still set Dealers and other users to tax exempt.
• Alternate email for new order notifications. (in config settings)
• Enhanced dashboard graph options to see your growth over longer periods.

In addition to our feature packed Google Maps integrated Dealer Locator, we make all fields optional so you can fill in anything or only fill in certain fields.

WSM just launched our new Live Chat eCommerce module which is available to all users in the Dealer package. Tests have shown conversion rates increasing from 2% to 20% with customers you engage in Live Chat for eCommerce customer support using suggestive up sell and cross sell techniques. Additionally you can be helping more people at once while doing other tasks using chat.

We are proud to announce our new Advanced Survey module so you can keep your finger on the pulse of your customers wants and needs. It offers many different question configurations including...

• Yes or No
• True/False
• 1 through 5
• Fill in the blank
• Multiple Choice with images

FREE to all Web Shop Manager V3.0 users is a fully featured photo gallery with nested albums as well as a basic event calendar to keep your eCommerce site visitors on top of things.