Blog Tuesday, March 05 2013
User interface adjustmentsSeveral minor user interface adjustments have been added. These include hover/rollover effects and counts added to the main editor icons. Ex. The admin home page now displays the number of outstanding orders, number of users/customers as well as your default mailing list size. Section slider componentWith the section slider component, you can setup content sections using the page editor. A section menu is displayed on the left side. when a menu button is clicked the content section associated with the menu button slides into view. Using the page editor you can add any component type into the sections. The section slider works like the tabbed content and accordion components. Updated text editorThe text editor has been updated. The updated includes many misc enhancements as well as a new style. The text editor is also more optimized for tablets. The new format option makes it easier to style your text. Click anywhere in a paragraph and set the paragraph/line style (heading 1, heading 2, heading 3, normal). You do not need to highlight text and select a style. IE 10 multi file uploadSupport has been added for multiple file upload on Internet Explorer 10. Image toolsThe image tools have been updated to provide quicker access to resize functions. Standard image sizes have been setup to help adjust images and keep image sizes consistent throughout your website. The system automatically detects when uploaded images are too large and gives you the option to adjust the size. Footer columnsWith the new footer columns feature you can setup multiple columns in your site footer area. Create up to 5 columns. Easily add text, images, links and social networking icons. To enable the feature, view your website, click settings and then set the number of footer columns. Simplified design optionsThe new design page now displays the most commonly used options. There is a link on the left side of the page for more advanced settings. Site style configurationThe new site styles area provides an quick preview of how all of your site styles look together. Click on a area of the page to select new style options (font, buttons, links, groupboxes, page titles and more). Font stylesNew title/default font combinations have been added. Go to the design area and click the text/styles option. Font families/selectionMany new fonts have been added to the system. The new font browser makes it easier to view font previews and make font selections. The new default title option makes it easier to create a consistent look throughout your site. You can set the logo builder, menu, groupboxes and titles to use the same setting. When you update your title style to use a new font, all the other areas are set to use the same options. ColorThe new color area includes preset color schemes to choose from and updated color selection/color scheme generator options. Advanced page background settingsWith the advanced page background settings you can choose customize the positioning and alignment of your main site background image. Choose to have a fixed (non scrollable background) or set the background image to always cover the full screen size. Advanced cssIf you are familiar with web design and style sheets (CSS) it is now even easier to make custom adjustments to your website. To access the custom CSS area, go to the main design page, click the advanced button and then click the advanced css link. Page editorMove components in and out of groupboxes, column groups and tabs. To move a component into or out of a page section, edit your page. Click the green box to the right of the component edit bar and then click the "move to" drop down menu. Select where you would like to move the component. In page image toolsWhen you move your mouse over an image while editing a page, you can click the image tools icon to open the image tools window. Resize and rotate images. Component alignment changesThe component alignment option has been moved. To align components, click the small green down arrow box above the component. Then click the alignment option. Misc updates
Ecommerce UpdatesThis update includes many enhancements in the ecommerce area. These enhancement are designed to make it easier to manage products, provide more ecommerce display options and allow better integration with other systems. Product edit page updatesThe main product edit page has been reworked to be more streamlined. The description, short description and text description are now displayed in tabs. This helps make the page shorter and easier to read. For many cases the short and text descriptions are not needed or used. These fields no longer take up extra space on the page. The edit product list in the store manager now displays your small product image making it easier to manage your products/see your product entries. Product imagesIt is now easier to manage your product images. Set the default sizes for the overview and detail images. Your uploaded images will be sized to match your settings. If you want to adjust the image size, just change the settings and the images will automatically be updated to match your settings. Product detail tabsIf you have a lot of information about a product you can now display the additional information in tabs that are displayed at the bottom of the product detail page. Create up to 5 custom tabs with additional information about your product. Dynamic pricing page updatesThe pricing page will now update the product price to reflect the price for the currently selected set of options and addons. Product optionsThe product option features has been reworked to provide for more flexibility. All of the same option types are available, but it is now easier to edit and organize your options. Use drag/reorder to organize your options list and option values. Product skus/advanced optionsThe new advanced options area gives you more control of your option settings and display. When you add an advanced option, more management features will be available for the product. These advanced features enable you to set the image, manage inventory, configure the weight, and modify the price for a set of options. Inventory tracking for optionsWith option based inventory tracking, you can track multiple inventory levels for the same product. Ex if you sell tshirts that come in red, blue and green as well as three sizes SM, M, LG - It is now easier to track the inventory for each combination of options.
Inventory import/exportUse the new inventory data options to import and export product inventory levels. This feature also works with SKU based product options. Shipping weight for optionsIf you have products with options that change the weight of the product, you can use the advanced setting to set the shipping weight for a set of options. Change product image based on selected optionsThe product image on the detail page can now be configured to change based on the selected set of options. Many customers like to see what the product looks like after their option changes have been made. Ex. If you sell tshirts - you can now set the product image to change to the red tshirt when customers select the red tshirt option. Advanced options must be enable to use this feature. After settings a SKUID for each option set, go to the more images area, upload your images and set the SKUID that is associated with each image. Color swatch option typeThe color swatch option type lets users click a color box to choose the color that they want instead of selecting the color from a drop down menu. Copy optionsSetting up product options is now even easier with the copy option feature. When editing a product, choose the copy option menu and select a product to copy options from an existing product. Quantity based pricing setupIt is now easier to setup quantity based pricing by using the quantity pricing entry screen. To setup quantity based pricing click the quantity table icon next to the pricing field. Enter the quantity amount and the unit price for that quantity. Shipping integrationYou can now configure your website to integrate with ShipWorks and ShipStation for enhanced shipping management. Thanks, Support Saturday, October 20 2012
We now support pop-up windows within our new website builder software. To create one just click on the green add button and then select "Design/Layout" and then select "Overlay Window". You have the option to let the window open on page load or after a certain amount of time. You can also have it load once per session or everytime. More options are available, please take a look and let us know if you have any questions.
Friday, October 05 2012
Site Builder 4.5
We are in the process of finalizing and testing the next system update. This release includes a few system adjustments/component updates and a large number of enhancements in the ecommerce area.
We do expect that the release roll out to all systems will take a longer than normal for the 4.6 update.
SECTION SLIDER COMPONENT
With the section slider component, you can setup content sections using the page editor. A section menu is displayed on the left side. when a menu button is clicked the content section associated with the menu button slides into view. Using the page editor you can add any component type into the sections. The section slider works like the tabbed content and accordion components.
USER INTERFACE ADJUSTMENTS
Several minor user interface adjustments have been added. These include hover/rollover effects and counts added to the main editor icons. Ex. The admin home page now displays the number of outstanding orders, number of users/customers as well as your default mailing list size.
ECOMMERCE CUSTOMER FEEDBACK
We are looking for a few customers that are interested in trying the new ecommerce features and updates. Much of the ecommerce system has been reworked and we are wanting to get feedback from customers before making all the updates generally available. Let us know if you have customers that are interested in getting early access to test the new features.
ECOMMERCE UPDATES
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This update includes many enhancements in the ecommerce area. These enhancement are designed to make it easier to manage products, provide more ecommerce display options and allow better integration with other systems.
Product edit page updates
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The main product edit page has been reworked to be more streamlined. The description, short description and text description are now displayed in tabs. This helps make the page shorter and easier to read. For many cases the short and text descriptions are not needed or used by customers. These fields no longer take up extra space on the page.
The edit product list in the store manager now displays your small product image making it easier to manage your products/see your product entries.
Product detail tabs
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If you have a lot of information about a product you can now display the additional information in tabs that are displayed at the bottom of the product detail page. Create up to 5 custom tabs with additional information about your product.
Dynamic pricing page updates
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The pricing on the product detail page will now dynamically update to reflect the price for the currently selected set of options and addons.
Product options
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The product option features has been reworked to provide for more flexibility. All of the same option types are available, but it is now easier to edit and organize your options. Use drag/reorder to organize your options list and option values.
Product skus/advanced options
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The new advanced options area gives you more control of your option settings and display. When you add an advanced option, more management features will be available for the product. These advanced features enable you to set the image, manage inventory, configure the weight, and modify the price for a set of options.
Inventory tracking for options
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With option based inventory tracking, you can track multiple inventory levels for the same product. Ex if you sell tshirts that come in red, blue and green as well as three sizes SM, M, LG - It is now easier to track the inventory for each combination of options.
red - SM
red - M
red - LG
blue - SM
...
Inventory import/export
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Use the new inventory data options to import and export product inventory levels. This feature also works with SKU based product options.
Shipping weight for options
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If you have products with options that change the weight of the product, you can use the advanced setting to set the shipping weight for a set of options.
Change product image based on selected options
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The product image on the detail page can now be configured to change based on the selected set of options. Many customers like to see what the product looks like after their option changes have been made. Ex. If you sell tshirts - you can now set the product image to change to the red tshirt when customers select the red tshirt option. Advanced options must be enable to use this feature.
After settings a SKUID for each option set, go to the more images area, upload your images and set the SKUID that is associated with each image.
Color swatch option type
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The color swatch option type lets users click a color box to choose the color that they want instead of selecting the color from a drop down menu.
Copy options
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Setting up product options is now even easier with the copy option feature. When editing a product, choose the copy option menu and select a product to copy options from an existing product.
Quantity based pricing setup
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It is now easier to setup quantity based pricing by using the quantity pricing entry screen. To setup quantity based pricing click the quantity table icon next to the pricing field. Enter the quantity amount and the unit price for that quantity.
COMING SOON / SITE BUILDER 4.6 / FUTURE SYSTEM UPDATES
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After the next release look for the following updates and enhancements. The 4.6 release will include new layouts and style options to help create a professional/quality website look and feel.
- New layouts
- Many new style options
- Easier design customization
- New components
- Better image management
- Enhanced mobile/tablet support
- Move components in/out of tabs, column and accordion components
Learn more about how to create a website here Thanks,
Support Friday, June 22 2012
We have added 7 new layouts to the site builder. To try the layouts, go to the design area and click the select layout link. Please send any comments back to support.
Friday, June 22 2012
FedEx has recently retired their FedEx ShipManager Direct service. If you are a customer setup with this shipping method, rates will not be available during the checkout process.
Merchants should be able to contact FedEx to get setup with a Web Services account. Once the merchant has a Web Services account, they can setup this option via their Shipping Options area to replace the retired FedEx ShipManager Direct option. Wednesday, February 08 2012
Design
Design menuThe design options popup menu has been enhanced to provide direct links to more design areas (design library, design settings, design manager, web developer tools...). The menu is also available by clicking the right most design tab ("..."). This menu allows you to easily navigate between design areas. Design manager - Design Explorer (coming soon)The design manager explorer allows you to edit and customize your design before making the changes live on your site.Content sliderThe content slider has been updated with direct links to edit the slider text. Photo galleryThe photo gallery has been adjusted to allow you to upload photos directly from the page editor. Edit a page with a photo gallery on it and click the upload button above the gallery display. Google mapsThe system has been updated to use the new Google maps API/service. You are no longer requied to user a developer key when setting up your map. QuickEdit barA new QuickEdit bar option is available. The QuickEdit bar is positioned at the top right of your website. It allows to you easily scroll up and down the page as well as toggle between edit/view modes. Ecommerce group coupon supportAutomatically generate sets of coupons for group based coupon promotions such as GroupOn.Ecommerce administrationYou can now setup admin user accounts and give the account access to manage your store products. To configure admin access, go to the user accounts - administration users area. Misc updates
Sunday, September 11 2011
Included in the latest release is the option for ecommerce account holders to setup an affiliate program. Using this feature the merchant can setup a commission rate to be earned by the affiliates and banners for the affiliates to display on their websites. Orders created by visitors who reach the site via these banners will be tracked and an affiliate payment will be computed. The merchant can keep track of their affiliate payments via their website admin. How it works:
The merchant creates an affiliate program with a percentage based commission via the affiliates area in the Store section. They setup an affiliate commission rate and write up how the affiliate program works in the program description area. Then they add banners that the affiliates will have to choose from to display on their website. Affiliates are created via the User accounts system. This can be done via the normal user account to a group methods: manually enter the affiliate user, create a form that sets up the submission as a user in the group, the standard create account option Once the affiliate user is created, the affiliate logs in via the My account area and clicks the affiliate tab. They can see details of the affiliate program and grab HTML to display the merchant's banner on the affiliate website. Sales completed by customers who reach the site by clicking the banner will be tracked and commissions will be applied to the affiliate. The merchant can view the amount owed to the affiliate and register a payment by finding the user in the user accounts area (affiliate group) and clicking the affiliate tab. The merchant would still need to actually send the payment to the affiliate. Thursday, May 19 2011
Rand from SEOMOZ discusses the future of link building in the ever changing world of SEO. I have found seomoz to be one of the best places on the internet to find great website optimization tips. Watch the video to see what working now and what's not.
http://www.seomoz.org/webinars/future-of-link-building Thursday, March 31 2011
CONTENT SLIDER COMPONENT
Use the new content slider to setup animated content sections with your own background images and text. Visitors can use arrows or page icons to navigation between slider content sections.GOOGLE FONT DIRECTORY
Most newer web browsers now support the ability to download fonts, giving you more control over how your site text looks. Google has setup a font directory allow you to add new fonts to be used for your website page text.In the text & styles area, you can now choose from a selection of many different font styles from the Google font directory. To choose your additional fonts, click the font drop down and click the more fonts link. You can choose up to 4 additional fonts to use on your site. SIDEBAR CONFIGURATION
The new sidebar configuration window provides easier access to sidebar minimum width and other options. A new icon has been added to the top sidebar to open up the sidebar settings window. You can set the minimum sidebar width as well as enable/disable sidebars while editing the page. The settings page includes an option to hide sidebars on product detail pages.DESIGN LIBRARY
More color layout options have been added to the design library. To view more options, go to the design library, find a design and click the color icon to preview the design in many different color schemes.ECOMMERCE
- Sidebar links mode - expandable tree format- Sidebar links mode - display categories as section titles - Option for full path navigation (breadcrumb links on top of all product pages) - Easier to move products/categories in and out of the hidden products area - Customize all labels/text for shopping cart and checkout pages - Configure gift certificate expiration - Customize css/style for the product sub category and links display MULTI FILE UPLOAD WITH DRAG/DROP FOR CHROME AND FIREFOX
When using Firefox or Google Chrome, you will now be able to multi-select and upload files. This is useful for setting up photo galleries or uploading files via the file manager. The upload form also includes a drop box. You can select files from your computer and drag them to the drop box to automatically upload them to your website.SEO
You can now customize the page head on a per page basic which allows you to setup page specific meta tags.MISC UPDATES
- content rotator - set the start and end times- Page title styles - you can use the text based titles for your page titles DESIGN BACKUPS
The system will now automatically save your current design when you change your layout. Up to 6 backup copies will be kept. This allows customers to reset their design if they accidentally change their layout.DEFAULT BANNER WIDTH SETTINGS
A new default banner setting has been added to make it easier to setup and manage your default site banner. You no longer need to specify a banner width (the width option is still available if you need to use it). The system will automatically generate the banner to the appropriate size. This feature is not available when the flash banner option is enabled.LAYOUT BUILDER (advanced feature)
Get more control over your design with the new layout builder designs. Customize the backgrounds, margins and padding for different areas of your layout (quickbar, logo, banner, menu bar, content areas, sidebars, footer). This is an advanced feature that requires good knowledge of web design/css.BIZLIVE CHAT
The live chat system now works on Firefox and Chrome.WEB DEVELOPER TOOLS (advanced feature)
Use the web developer tools to customize your website. This is an advanced feature that requires good knowledge of web design/css and web programming. To enable the developer tools, go to the design and click the more options link.- Install custom template templates - Create custom layouts for products - Upload your own menu buttons - Customize your menu styles, photo gallery styles and more. Tuesday, January 04 2011
USPS recently updated their Web Tools service which is used to calculate shipping rates. Merchants who use the USPS automated rate calculator may have reported issues with rates not calculating on order submitted recently. This was due the USPS changes. A update was released today to adjust for the changes made by USPS. Rates should currently be available and working again. Please remember that when no rate is available whether it be due to this issue or when the shipper is unavailable to return a rate, the manual shipping/calculated at ship time option will be displayed to the shopper during checkout. This allows the shopper to place their order and for you to calculate the shipping fee after the order has been placed. Most merchants can use the Add Charge button on the order details screen to bill additional fees to the credit card on file for the shopper. The Add Charge button is only available though if this is compatible with your gateway. To comment on this blog just click on "comments" below, A form will open up below where you can enter your comments. Commenting on this blog and then entering your website link will help promote your site and help it move up in the search engines. Thursday, November 11 2010
We have just finished rolling out our latest release on all sites. You can read more about it on the right side of the main admin page. This release includes Updated mobile admin pages, Site editor updates, New social networking options, Page language translation, Blog enhancements, Site under construction and more.
Thursday, November 04 2010
The mobile support is not for all mobile devices. It is designed to work with advanced mobile smartphones such as the iPhone and Android based devices that have full HTML support (we are not supporting WAP based phones). To add mobile pages to your site, go to the page list and click the mobile website button.
Sunday, October 03 2010
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Due to the increase in Iphone and Android support calls we are listing the directions on how to setup these phones. Please follow directions and then contact support if you still have problems.iPhone/iPad
Please allow up to 5-10 minutes for the verify process to finish. Android Device
Don't forget that eDirectHost Website Builder can help you build your own website. Friday, August 20 2010
Version 4.17 was just released by eDirectHost. Here are some of the things that have been added.
Mobile web pages, AppDb, form data/updated form export, blog customizations, ecommerce product rewards, secure forms upgrade Tuesday, March 09 2010
eDirectHost just released it's new 4.16 version. Please check out the notes on the main admin page on the right side. Leave any comments on the new version here. Thanks.
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