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nopd speed Mike Caldera - Sunday, January 24, 2010

I got around to optimization cheats to make NOP load really fast.

Windows 2008 - Using IIS7 it's a no brainier and really fast and easy to do w/o messing up. Please do this one step at a time unless you know what your doing. Please backup your ENTIRE webserver "FULL backup" with a cheap $100 external harddrive from bestbuy or some other store. That's a must if you can't back up Don't touch! (To restore: Win 2008 Disk, select repair, and back date..done) Ok lets go.

Don't bother editing "applicationhost.config" unless you want your entire BOX (all websites) to have this done, (definitely not recommended) or if you have less than Windows 2008. Why I won't know, but 2008 is the best OS period. You should all have it. The following procedure edits the webconfig file in your web directory(notepad go away)

IIS7> drill down to your Default website (not store)(this is website root downward)
Under Performance Category> Compression > Enable the following:
check box on: Dynamic Compression
check box on: Static Compression

Output caching: At root level
add .pdf,.swf or any other file other than html
Check box on: Kernal-Mode Caching
Using the file change notifications(These files don't ever change same stuff each time)IE: same pdf, same swf etc.
don't check user mode leave off

Go to "MYNOPSTORE" directory
highlight the store directory

Select "Output caching"
You should have "Inherited" pdf swf or whatever file you added listed here!
Add .jpg here and use Kernel_Mode

Select APP_themes> your current theme>Images>output caching
add .jpg,.png or whatever you made your custom skins with here. don't need .gif but you could add

select "templates" be careful here!!!!!!!!!!!! go down to:

select "Categories"
This time you can't use Kernel you could but different browser problems so "add" .aspx
then check  "User Mode Caching"
Click advanced in headers add "user-agent"
don't check off query string variables

select "Manufacturers"
This time you can't use Kernel you could but different browser problems so "add" .aspx
then check  "User Mode Caching"
Click advanced in headers add "user-agent"
don't check off query string variables

select "Products"
This time you can't use Kernel you could but different browser problems so "add" .aspx
then check  "User Mode Caching"
Click advanced in headers add "user-agent"
don't check off query string variables

DO NOT SELECT "PAYMENTS" DIRECTORY Ok You definitely don't want that cached on your computer ever!

restart website

your should be fast(er)

This does not replace image optimization but it certainly helps. If you want even faster load you must debabalize each image and re render and upload. And thats the game!

Hope this helps anyone.

Mike
old supports

http://learn.iis.net/page.aspx/380/improving-performance-with-native-output-caching/

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5-Managing Orders - Monday, December 21, 2009

Managing orders

The orders are controlled via admin area. Go to Sales, then Orders. The top portion of the page is a search form for your orders. You can enter specific search criteria and use a variety of filters to find any order placed in your store. When any search is performed, the results of the search are displayed on the lower half of the screen.

After a customer completes transaction, a new order will appear in the orders page. Click View link of an order to view details.

Here you can view/manage:

Order info
Billing info
Shipping info
Ordered products

If you selected Authorize (not Authorize and Capture) in the payment gateway settings, you will have the option to capture the order anytime by clicking the Captured button (if capture is allowed) or mark the order as paid by clicking the Mark as paid button. Once the payment has been paid, the buttons will no longer appear.

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4-Managing Customers - Monday, December 21, 2009

Customers

The store common settings are controlled via admin area. Go to Customers, then Manage Customers. This page lists customer information. You can add, view or edit customer information here.

You can manage:

Customer info.
Customer billing addresses.
Customer shipping addresses.
Customer orders.
Assigning customers to customer roles.

Customer roles

For each customer who has an account in your store, you have the option to configure a customer role. Customer roles are a means to apply other features in nopCommerce to groups of customers all at once. The customer roles are controlled via admin area. Go to Customers, then Customer roles. To add a role, click the Add new button. You will be presented with a screen similar to the one shown below.

Enter the new role name. You can mark customer role as tax extempt. Also you can mark customer role as free shipping. When you have finished entering the information, click the Add/Save button to create the role. Your new group will now appear in the list.

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3-Promotions and marketing - Monday, December 21, 2009

Promotions and marketing

Affiliates
Discounts/Coupons

Affiliates

The affiliates are controlled via admin area. Go to Promotions, then Affiliates. Click Edit link of an affiliate to edit/delete it.

An affiliate partner URL looks like http://www.yourstore.com/default.aspx?affiliateID=N When somebody clicks on that hyperlink from the affiliate site, default.aspx looks for an AffiliateID query string parameter. If one is present, then the customer is tagged with that affiliate.

Discounts/Coupons

The discounts are controlled via admin area. Go to Promotions, then Discounts. Click Edit link of the discount to edit/delete it.

Discounts can be assigned to whole order. Also it can be assigned to a product variant. This would be accomplished from the product variant editing page.

Special consideration should be taken if you have multiple discounts. Products can have any number of discounts attached. In these situations, nopCommerce will automatically calculate the best possible price for the customer based on all available discounts and group memberships.

Also discounts can be filtered by customer role. You can use filering by checking and unchecking customer roles. An example of "Premium customers" pricing might be to define a discount that gives 10 percent off all product prices.

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2-Get ready for selling - Monday, December 21, 2009

Get ready for selling

Global Settings
Currencies
Taxes
Managing shipping methods and shipping rates
Payment methods

Global Settings

You can modify all of the settings of the store. The store common settings are controlled via admin area. Go to Configuration, then Global settings. You will be taken to the screen shown below.

Store info

Store name. Enter your store name as it will appear in the front-end
Store URL. Enter your store URL (on production server).
Store closed. If enabled then store will be closed.
Anonymous checkout allowed. Check to enable anonymous checkout (customers are not required to login/register when purchasing products).

SEO/Display

Default SEO-related meta and display information is controlled from here.

Enable store name prefix. Prefix product / category / manufacturer page titles with the store name e.g. Your Store: Your Product Name.
Default title. The default title will display in the browser’s title bar when site is being browsed.
Default meta keywords. This will show in the default tag of the HTML source.
Default meta description. This will show in the default tag of the HTML source.
Store theme. The public store theme.
Show welcome message on home page. Show the welcome message on your store's home page.
Display news RSS feed link in the browser address bar. Check to enable the news rss feed link in customers browser address bar.
Display blog RSS feed link in the browser address bar. Check to enable the blog rss feed link in customers browser address bar.

Media

Default media information is controlled from here.

Maximum image size. The maximum image size (longest side) allowed for image uploads.
Product thumbnail image size. The default size (pixels) for product thumbnail images.
Product detail image size. The default size (pixels) for product detail images.
Product variant detail image size. The default size (pixels) for product variant images.
Category thumbnail image size. The default size (pixels) for product thumbnail images on category pages.
Manufacturer thumbnail image size. The default size (pixels) for product thumbnail images on manufacturer pages.
Show product images on cart. Determines whether product images should are displayed in your store shopping cart.
Show product images on wishlist. Determines whether product images should are displayed on customer wishlists.
Cart/Wishlist thumbnail image size. The default size (pixels) for product thumbnail images on shopping cart/wishlist pages.

Units

Default measure units information is controlled from here.

Base weight in. Choose your store base weight.
Base dimension in. Choose your store base dimension.

Mail settings

Here you can specify email server settings for your store. Test Email also can be sent from here.

Store Admin Email. This is the from address for all outgoing emails from your store e.g. 'sales@yourstore.com'.
Store Admin Email Display Name. This is the friendly display name for outgoing emails from your store e.g. 'Your Store Sales Department'.
Host. This is the host name or IP address of your mail server. You can normally find this out from your ISP or web host.
Port. This is the SMTP port of your mail server. This is usually port 25.
User. This is the username you use to authenticate to your mail server.
Password. This is the password you use to authenticate to your mail server.
Enable SSL. Check to use Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) to encrypt the SMTP connection.
Use default credentials. Check to use default credentials for the connection.

Security

Here you can change your encryption private key and specify your SSL settings.

Encryption private key. The encryption private key used for storing sensitive data.
"Login captcha image" enabled. This controls whether "Login captcha image" feature is enabled.
"Registration captcha image" enabled. This controls whether "Registration captcha image" feature is enabled.

Customer profiles

Here you can change customer profile settings.

Customer name format. Customer name format displayed on news/blog/forum pages.
Allow customers to upload avatars. Determines whether customers are allowed to upload avatars.
Allow viewing customer profiles. Determines whether to viewing profiles of customers are allowed.
Show customers location.Determines whether to show customers location on news/blog/forum pages.
Show customers join date. Determines whether to show customers join date on news/blog/forum pages.
Allow private messaging. Determines whether private message are allowed
Allow customers to select time zone. Check to allow customers to select time zone. If checked, then time zone can be selected on the public store (account page). If not, then default time zone will be used.
Default store time zone. The default store time zone used to display dates.

Misc

"Usernames" enabled. This controls whether customer login/register by usernames (P.S. emails by default).
New customer registration is not allowed. This controls whether new customer registration is allowed.
Allow navigation only for registered customers. Check to don't allow customers to navigate anywhere without entering thier login information.
'Customer email valifation' enabled. Check to require email validation during customer registration.
"Compare products" enabled. This controls whether "Compare products" feature is enabled.
"Wishlist" enabled. This controls whether "Wishlist" feature is enabled.
"Email a friend" enabled. This controls whether "Email a friend" feature is enabled.
"Recently viewed products" enabled. This controls whether "Recently viewed products" option is enabled.
"Recently added products" enabled. This controls whether "Recently added products" option is enabled.
Notify about new product reviews. This controls whether to notify store owner about new product reviews.
Show best sellers on home page. This controls whether to show best sellers on home page.
'Products also purchased' enabled. Check to allow customers to view a list of products purchased by other customers who purchased the above.
Number of also purchased products to display:. The number of products also purchased by other customers to display when ''Products also purchased'' option is enabled.

Currencies

The currencies are controlled via admin area. Go to Configuration, then Location, then Currencies.

Primary store currency - This is the currency against which all other allowed currencies will be configured. While you can allow multiple currencies in which to display your product prices, this is the currency that will be used for payment transactions with online payment gateways. Primary store currency is used by store administrators only. It’s used for setting product prices. Primary store currency doesn’t have to be the same as published currencies. If you have only one published currency, the store will not show a currency selector, or show any currency symbol with prices. If more that one currency is published, all prices are marked with the currently selected currency. We recommend to remove any currency you will not need.

Don’t forget to

Select your primary exchange rate currency.
Select your primary store currency.

nopCommerce uses an exchange rate to calculate the amounts for published currencies. The exchange rate is entered when a currency is added or edited. Or you can use real-time exchange rate service (ECB: European Central Bank). To calculate the amount, the price of the product is multiplied by the exchange rate provided. Keep in mind that exchange rates fluctuate on a daily basis. You can edit the exchange rate as often as you need in order to stay current. Actual transactions are only handled in your stores primary currency. On credit card transactions, banks will usually make exchanges automatically based on the most current currency values.

Taxes

Depending on where your store is located, you may be required to collect tax. nopCommerce enables you to configure taxes for specific areas (Florida Tax) and specific products (Electronics Tax). New tax rates can be added to existing tax categories or to a new tax category, and are based on a country or a state. This allows products to be taxed accordingly to location, and achieves a final tax rate value by adding or compounding the tax rates defined in the assigned products tax class.

Tax settings

The tax settings are controlled via admin area. Go to Configuration, then Tax, then Tax settings.

Prices include tax. A value indicating whether entered prices include tax.
Allow customers to select tax display type. A value indicating whether customers are allowed to select tax display type.
Tax display type. Tax display type (incl/excl tax).
Display tax suffix. A value indicating whether to display tax suffix (incl tax/excl tax).
Hide zero tax. A value indicating whether to hide zero tax in order summary.
Hide tax in order summary. A value indicating whether to hide tax in order summary when prices are shown tax inclusive.
Tax based on. Here you select what tax basen on: Billing address / Shipping address / default address / shipping origin.
Default Country. The default country used for tax calculation.
Default State / Province. The default state / province used for tax calculation.
Default Zip / Postal code. The default zip / postal code used for tax calculation.
Shipping is taxable. A value indicating whether shipping is taxable.
Shipping price includes tax. A value indicating whether shipping price includes tax.
Shipping tax class. Select tax class used for shipping tax calculation.
Payment method additional fee is taxable. A value indicating whether payment method additional fee is taxable.
Payment method additional fee includes tax. A value indicating whether payment method additional fee includes tax.
Payment method additional fee tax class. Select tax class used for payment method additional fee tax calculation.

Tax classes

The tax categories are controlled via admin area. Go to Configuration, then Tax, then Tax classes. Tax classes are associated to product variants.

Tax rates

Don’t forget to select default tax provider. The tax providers are controlled via admin area. Go to Configuration, then Tax, then Tax providers.

Currently nopCommerce provides three tax providers:

No tax. Tax is zero cost.
Tax By Country & State. Tax rates are calculated based upon the country & state. Set to 0 if no tax collected in this country/state.
Strike Iron Basic. Tax rates are calculated based upon Strike Iron web service.

Tax By Country & State will calculate a tax fee based on upon the country & state & zip. While adding new tax rate you can specify:

Country.
State / province. f an asteriks is selected, then this tax rate will apply to all customers from the given country, regardless of the state.
Zip. Zip / postal code. If zip is empty, then this tax rate will apply to all customers from the given country or state, regardless of the zip code.
Tax class.

Managing shipping methods and shipping rates

Shipping methods are those ways in which you decide how to ship the products to the customers. The customer typically can then pick what type of shipping they want, and the cost for that shipping method is attached to the order. Typically shipping methods would be things like: “By Ground”, “By Air”, “Next Day”, etc… Your are free to choose any shipping method names that you want. The shipping methods are controlled via admin area. Go to Configuration, then Shipping, then Shipping methods.

Don’t forget to select default shipping rate computation method. The shipping rate computation methods are controlled via admin area. Go to Configuration, then Shipping, then Shipping rate computation. It’s used to calculate shipping rates.

nopCommerce provides several shipping rate computation methods:

Free Shipping. Shipping is zero cost.
Shipping By Order Weight. Shipping rates are calculated based upon the total weight of a shipment.
Shipping By Order Total. Shipping rates are calculated based upon the order total of a shipment.
Shipping By Country & Order Weight. Shipping rates are calculated based upon the country and the total weight of a shipment.
USPS (US Postal Service). Real-time shipping rates
UPS (United Parcel Service). Real-time shipping rates
FedEx. Real-time shipping rates

Shipping By Order Weight will calculate a shipping fee based on how much the shipment weighs. This is the recommended shipping calculation for companies that have products that vary a great deal in weight. The ability to charge different costs depending on the weight of the shipment helps to keep the company's shipping costs down when heavy items are shipped, yet keep the cost reasonable for customers who purchase products that are light in weight.

If you decide to use matrix by weight, you will set up weight brackets and how much shipping will cost if the shipment falls within that bracket. For example: 1 pound up to 5 pounds will cost $3.00 per kg, 6 pounds up to 12 pounds will cost $8.00 per kg. You can set up multiple shipping fees depending on the shipping methods. Using the first weight bracket above, 1 pound up to 5 pounds will cost $3.00 per kg using Ground and 1 pound up to 5 pounds will cost $18.00 per kg using Next Day.

Shipping By Order Total is much like shipping by order weight but instead of using a weight scale, you are using a cost scale. In this case, the cost is the total of all products being purchased.

Payment methods

A payment method is how a customer pays for the order. nopCommerce allows for both online and offline transactions. For the online methods, nopCommerce supports integration with several third party payment gateways, so that customer credit card information will automatically sent through the gateway (as either an authorization, or an authorization and charge) upon completion of an order. You can have multiple payment methods active at one time. The user can select how he wants to pay at checkout. The payment methods are controlled via admin area. Go to Configuration, then Payment, then Payment methods.

As a rule two transaction modes are supported by payment methods.

Authorize – authorize the charge, but does NOT capture or transfer funds. Just verifies card.
Authorize and capture – authorize and capture the transaction all at once.

If you don’t want to charge the customer until you ship, then use Authorize. For charges that come in as Authrorized only, you can later capture them via the admin area. There will be a capture button on the order.

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1-Set up your catalog - Monday, December 21, 2009

Set up your catalog

After you successfully installed nopCommerce, you are now ready to setup your store by configuring the admin area.

Managing categories
Managing manufacturers
Managing products

Managing categories

The categories are controlled via admin area. Go to Catalog, then Categories. You'll see the category tree, which lists all existing categories and displays their relationship to one another. For example, if one category is a sub-category of another, it will be listed directly below it, and indented one level. You can create any number of subcategories that you feel are necessary.

If you click on "Add new category" button or click on the category name, you will be at the category add/edit screen. You will be taken to a screen similar to the one below.

Category info

Name. The category name as it will appear in the front-end
Image. Select an Image by clicking the Browse... button and locating the image on your computer.
Description. The category’s description.
Template. The category’s template. This controls the look of the category page, including the objects on the page and the structure of the page. You can customize the design of each category individually by this option.
Parent category. Select the parent category in which the category will be created.
Price range. Define the price ranges for the store price range filter. Separate ranges with a semicolon e.g. '0-199;200-300;301-;' (301- means 301 and over).
Published. This controls whether the category is published. When a category is published, it will be shown during catalog browsing. If the category is not published, it will not be shown in regular category browsing in the front-end.
Display order. This determines the sort order of the category.

SEO

SEO-related meta information is controlled from here.

Meta keywords. This will show in the tag of the category’s HTML source.
Meta description. This will show in the tag of the category’s HTML source.
Meta title. The title will display in the browser’s title bar when category is being viewed.
Search engine friendly page name. Set a search engine friendly page name e.g. 'The Best Computers' to make your page name '##-the-best-computers.aspx' (## represents the category ID). The default is the name of category.
Page size. Set the page size for products in this category e.g. '4' products per page.

Products

Products can be added to a category after the category is created. You can add products by checking and unchecking products. Display order controls the order in which the products display on the front end, regardless of the order in this grid.

Discounts applied to the category

Discounts can be applied to a category after the category is created. You can add discounts by checking and unchecking discounts.

Managing manufacturers

The manufacturers are controlled via admin area. Go to Catalog, then Manufacturers.
Click on a manufacturer name to edit/manage/delete it. Or click Add new button to add new one.

Manufacturer info

Name. The manufacturer name as it will appear in the front-end
Image. Select an Image by clicking the Browse... button and locating the image on your computer.
Description. The manufacturer’s description.
Template. The manufacturer’s template. This controls the look of the manufacturer page, including the objects on the page and the structure of the page. You can customize the design of each manufacturer individually by this option.
Price range. Define the price ranges for the store price range filter. Separate ranges with a semicolon e.g. '0-199;200-300;301-;' (301- means 301 and over).
Published. This controls whether the manufacturer is published.
Display order. This determines the sort order of the manufacturer.

SEO

SEO-related meta information is controlled from here.

Meta keywords. This will show in the tag of the manufacturer’s HTML source.
Meta description. This will show in the tag of the manufacturer’s HTML source.
Meta title. The title will display in the browser’s title bar when category is being viewed.
Search engine friendly page name. Set a search engine friendly page name e.g. 'The Manufacturer Name' to make your page name '##-the-manufacturer-name.aspx' (## represents the manufacturer ID). The default is the name of manufacturer.
Page size. Set the page size for products for this manufacturer e.g. '4' products per page.

Products

Products can be added to a manufacturer after the manufacturer is created. You can add products by checking and unchecking products. Display order controls the order in which the products display on the front end, regardless of the order in this grid.

Managing products

Products are the merchandise that is for sale in your store. All products need to be listed under a category or subcategory. nopCommerce has no limit in numbers of products in your store. All products will have its own Product Page.

However, keep in mind that products are not things that are directly orderable, Product Variants (SKUs) are. A simple example will make this clear. Consider the product “Creative Sound Card”. Customer cannot order “Creative Sound Card” directly, they have to order OEM or Retail version of “Creative Sound Card”. So in our case, the Product is “Creative Sound Card”, and there would be two variants for this product: “OEM” and “Retail”, each with potentially different prices.

The products are controlled via admin area. Go to Catalog, then Products, then Manage Products. Click on a product name to edit/manage/delete it. Click Add new button to add new one. Product info, product variants, category mappings, manufacturer mappings, related products, discount mappings, product pictures, attribitues and specifications are managed here.

Adding products differs from Editing products. When you click Add new button you start to add one product and one product variant. Later you can add another product variants. When you edit the product you start to edit only the product without product variants. To edit product variants of existing product go to Product Variants (SKUs) tab of the product.

Product info

The next options and values are applied to products (not product variants).

Product name. The product name as it will appear in the front-end.
Short description. The product’s short description.
Full description. The product’s full description.
Admin comment. Admin comment. Visible only in the back-end.
Product type. The product’s type. Visible only in the back-end now.
Template. The product’s template. This controls the look of the product page, including the objects on the page and the structure of the page. You can customize the design of each product individually by this option.
Published. This controls whether the product is published. By selecting this box, the product will appear in your store and customers will be able to purchase the product. If the product you are adding isn’t ready to be made live yet or if you are currently not selling the item because it is out of stock, make sure that the Published checkbox is not selected.
Allow customer reviews. This controls whether the product reviews are allowed.
Allow customer ratings. This controls whether the product ratings are allowed.

The next options and values are applied to product variants (not products).

SKU. A Stock Keeping Unit, or SKU is a unique identifier for each distinct product and service that can be ordered from a supplier. Usage of the SKU system is rooted in data management, enabling the merchant to systematically track their inventory, such as in warehouses and retail outlets.
Manufacturer part number. The product’s manufacturer part number.
Downloadable product. This controls whether the product is downloadable.
Download file. Select an file by clicking the Browse... button and locating the file on your computer if this product variant is downloadable.
Shipping enabled. This controls whether the product is ship enabled. If the product is shippable, select this checkbox.
Free shipping. This controls whether the shipping for this product is free.
Tax exempt. This controls whether the product variant (SKU) is tax exempt.
Tax category. This is the product variant tax category to which this product will be associated. This determines which tax rule will be used for this product, and consequently the tax rate that will be charged to your customers.
Manage Stock. Check to enable system stock management. When enabled, stock quantities are automatically adjusted when a customer makes a purchase. You can also set low stock activity actions and receive notifications.
Stock quantity. The product variant’s stock quantity.
Minimum Stock quantity. The product variant’s minimum stock quantity.
Low stock activity. The product variant’s low stock activity (nothing, disable buy button, unpublish).
Notify admin for quantity below. When the current stock quantity falls below this quantity, the storekeeper (admin) will receive a notification.
Minimum cart quantity. Set the minimum quantity allowed in a customers shopping cart e.g. set to 3 to only allow customers to purchase 3 or more of this product.
Maximum cart quantity. Set the maximum quantity allowed in a customers shopping cart e.g. set to 5 to only allow customers to purchase 5 of this product.
Warehouse. This is the product variant warehouse in which this product variant is located.
Disable buy button. This controls whether the buy ("add to cart") button is disabled.
Requires text option. This controls whether to require text options on product variant (e.g. require initials for monogrammed products, require text name for product customization, etc).
Price. The price of your item as it will display in the front-end. The cost that you enter here will be displayed on all pricing pages.
Old price. The old price of your item.
Availbale start date. The start of the product availability. Can be empty.
Availbale end date. The end of the product availability. Can be empty.
Weight. The weight of your item.
Length. The length of your item.
Width. The width of your item.
Height. The height of your item.

SEO

SEO-related meta information is controlled from here.

Meta keywords. This will show in the tag of the product’s HTML source.
Meta description. This will show in the tag of the product’s HTML source.
Meta title. The title will display in the browser’s title bar when category is being viewed.
Search engine friendly page name. Set a search engine friendly page name e.g. 'The Best Product' to make your page name '##-the-best-product.aspx' (## represents the product ID). The default is the name of the product.

Product Variants (SKUs)

Product Variants (SKUs) are controlled from here. This tab is visible only after the product is created.

Category mappings

Products are the actual items that are for sale. Every product needs to be attached to either a category or subcategory. The products can be added to the categories while the product is being created, or anytime thereafter. You can add the product to the categories by checking and unchecking products. Display order controls the order in which the product display on the front end, regardless of the order in this grid.

Manufacturer mappings

The products can be added to the manufacturers while the product is being created, or anytime thereafter. You can add the product to the manufacturers by checking and unchecking products. Display order controls the order in which the product display on the front end, regardless of the order in this grid.

Related products

"Related products" is a feature that enables you to link related products together. When customers go to a product’s page that has cross-selling set up, links to the related products will be available. The links will be shown as suggested accessories. By doing this, you are basically suggesting to the customer related products that they might not have otherwise looked at. You can add related products by checking and unchecking products. Display order controls the order in which the products display on the front end, regardless of the order in this grid.

Discounts

Discounts can be applied to the product variant only. Discounts can be applied to the product variant while the product variant is being created, or anytime thereafter. The discounts that are listed here are discounts that were created from the Discount page. If you want the product to have one of the discounts applied, simply select the name of the discount.

Pictures

Products can be added to the product after the product is created. The first picture is default.

Product specification

Product specification can be added to the product after the product is created.

Product attributes

Some products may have additional properties that customers must choose before placing orders. For example, cloth may have different size (X, M, L), or color (red, white, black). All attributes must be defined before adding inventory. Product attributes (e.g. color, size) can be applied to the product variant only. You can add product attributes after the product variant is created. Display order controls the order in which the products display on the front end, regardless of the order in this grid.

Tier prices

"The more you buy, the more you save" feature. The idea behind this pricing strategy is simple—if a customer purchases a large volume of a product, the product is offered at a lower price

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0-Installation of MaxZ using nopCommerce - Monday, December 21, 2009

Installation

nopCommerce installation consists of several steps:

Check system requirements
Install nopCommerce
Admin area

Check system requirements

Computer: 1000 Mhz Pentium III or higher
Memory: 1024 MB or higher
OS supported:
- Windows Server 2003
- Windows Server 2008
- Windows Vista
- Windows XP
ASP.NET 3.5 SP1
IIS 5.1, IIS 6.0, IIS 7.0
Databases supported:
- MS SQL Server 2005
- MS SQL Server 2008
MS Visual Studio 2008 (required for developers who want to edit source code)

Install nopCommerce

You can install nopCommerce using Installation Wizard, or manually (for advanced users).

Installation Wizard. Run the site and follow the Installation Wizard instructions.

Manual Installation. The installation of nopCommerce is quite straightforward. The site can be installed locally on your development server or your production server.

Unzip the file you have downloaded
If you’re installing nopCommerce on a remote server then FTP all unzipped files into your remote host web directory.
Create empty store database.
Once the database is created , execute the following sql scripts from NopCommerceStore\install\Scripts folder over your database:
- nopCommerce_createDatabase.sql
- nopCommerce_createData.sql
- nopCommerce_createSampleData.sql (optional)
Open your ConnectionStrings.config file. You have to add the database connection string. If should look like this. "<connectionstrings> <add name="NopSqlConnection" connectionString="your connection string here" /></connectionstrings>" If you’re installing nopCommerce on a remote server then your hosting company will provide you with required connection string.

Admin area

The admin area should be the same URL + /administration/. The default administrator email is admin@yourstore.com. The default administrator password is admin

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Customer Service - Client Service - Thursday, April 09, 2009

Managing online business requires different skills and abilities than managing a business in the ‘real world.’ Customers can easily detect the size and determine the prestige of a business when they have the ability to walk in and take a look around. Not only do ‘real-world’ furnishings and location tell the customer what level of professionalism to expect, but "real world" personal encounters allow first impressions to be determined by how the business approaches its customer service. When a customer walks into a retail business just about anywhere in the world, that customer expects prompt and personal service, especially with regards to questions that they may have about products they wish to purchase.

Customer service or the client service is the service provided to the customer for his satisfaction during and after the purchase. It is necessary to every business organization to understand the customer needs for value added service. So customer data collection is essential. For this, a good customer service is important. The easiest way to lose a client is because of the poor customer service. The importance of customer service changes by product, industry and customer. Client service is an important part of every business organization. Each organization is different in its attitude towards customer service. Customer service requires a superior quality service through a careful design and execution of a series of activities which include people, technology and processes. Good customer service starts with the design and communication between the company and the staff.

In some ways, the lack of a physical business location allows the online business some leeway that their ‘real world’ counterparts do not enjoy. Location is not important, furnishings are not an issue, and most of the visual first impression is made through the professional design of the business website.

However, one thing still remains true. Customers will make their first impressions on the customer service they encounter. Unfortunately, in online business there is no opportunity for front- line staff to make a good impression. Every interaction the customer has with the website will be their primary means of making their first impression towards the business and its client service. Good customer service in any online business is a direct result of good website design and planning.

By Jayashree Pakhare (buzzle.com)

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Online Discount Coupons - Thursday, April 09, 2009

Online discount coupons enable access to great offers from some of the world’s best sites for Internet shopping. The online coupons are designed to allow compulsive online shoppers to access massive discounts on a variety of products. The regular shopper accesses the coupons in bulk and avails of great festive offers and freebies thrown in from time to time. The coupon code option is most commonly used when using a shopping cart. The coupon code is entered on the order page just before checking out. Every online shopping resource has a discount coupon submission option to confirm the coupon code. The dedicated web sites allow the shopper to check whether or not a discount is still applicable. If it is, the sites also enable the shopper to calculate the total cost after deducting the coupon amount like in the case of grocery coupons. Online discount coupons are very convenient to use. They offer great deals and professionally negotiated rates if bought from special online coupon outlets. With a little research and at times, insider knowledge the online discount coupons are a real steal. They are designed to promote products by offering ‘real value for money’ packages. The coupons are legitimate and help with budgeting, in the case of a compulsive shopper. They are available for special trade show promotions, nightlife, sporting events and dinner shows and just about anything that could be associated with the promotion of a product. The coupons enable the online shopper to optimize net access more effectively. Getting a ‘big deal’ is not more utopian amidst rising prices. The online coupons offer internet access to the best and cheapest products displayed online. Big discounts are only a code away! By Gaynor Borade (buzzle.com)

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