How to Set Up an e-Commerce Site

February 14th, 2010 by alexander9617837

E-Commerce opportunities on the internet are mind-boggling. Ecommerce transactions in the U.S. are projected to hit $198 billion in 2006 according to shop.org. According to eMarketer, Canadian consumers spent $3.8 billion online in 2004 and that number is expected to rise to $5.7 billion in 2006.

There are four main costs to setting up an e-commerce store:Hosting costs/shopping cart software
Hosting costs for an ecommerce shopping cart solution range from free to $79.95 per month or more. Before you purchase a shopping cart system, there are many things to consider.

When choosing shopping cart software, you need to consider the number of credit card processors and shipping services it supports. Credit card processors and shipping services can change, so the software will need to be easy to update and be well supported to keep up with the changes in the market.
You will also need to consider how easy it is to set up and add products and how easy it is for the customer to use. Shop in some the shopping cart’s sample stores before you make your decision.
It is also important to determine if it can handle the tax system where you are selling and if it supports your chosen method of shipping, whether it is by weight, fixed amount, or both.

You also have to consider the company who will be hosting your site and/or shopping cart. If your shopping cart is going to be hosted by the same company that hosts your site, you need to ensure that it will be fully supported. You will also need to ensure that your order forms and shopping cart will be secure. Ask your web hosting provider if your hosting package includes the use of their secure server (SSL) or if it will cost extra. Most commercial shopping carts are hosted separately from your site, and the SSL is included in the montly fees you will pay for the software.Some popular shopping carts are:
- cents X-Cart.com - A popular commercial shopping cart.
- cents Oscommerce.org - This is an open source based online shop, (so it’s free!) but it is not easy to set up for a ‘newbie’. You will also need to find a host that supports it.
- cents Zencart.com- Another free open source program that is maintained by volunteer efforts. It is based on oscommerce, and a little easier to set up. Like any open source program, however, it does not have support staff to help you if you are stuck. To solve any problems, you have to rely on forums and other users to help you.
- cents Cartville.com
- cents Paypal.com - Paypal offers a free shopping cart, but it does not work with many tax systems, like the one in Canada.

Development Costs
Whether you hire someone to develop and customize your store or you do it yourself, there are costs involved. You will need to customize the color, logo, shipping, tax and addresses, just to name a few. You will also have to set up your products and product options.Cost of a merchant account
The next cost involves setting up a method of receiving credit card payments on-line.

Setting up a Paypal account is the least expensive option (2.9% + $0.30 USD per transaction at the time of writing). Costs for your own merchant account are higher - there are usually set up fees ($500+), transaction fees (up to 3% per transaction) and a monthly flat fee as well. If you already have a merchant account set up off-line, an e-commerce account will be significantly cheaper.Promotional Costs
You should also budget for advertising and search engine marketing to drive consumers to your site. After all, what good is having a store if no one comes to shop?

This article is by no means all encompassing, but it does cover the basics of selling online. An ecommerce site is an affordable way to sell your products to your customers. Compare the costs with setting up a physical store front - the cost of selling on-line is truly cost-efficient. But Beware! Even though opportunities abound in today’s market, if you try to run an ecommerce website on the cheap you will ultimately limit its potential.

Good luck with your store!
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Oscommerce Suite

The Five Steps of E-Commerce

February 12th, 2010 by alexander9617837

The concept is the same, but the steps are different.

Step 1: Create your website

If you don’t have web design skills, you can hire a qualified web designer to create a website for you, or you can use an online site builder. Think of it as hiring an architect and an interior decorator compared to setting up shop in an existing store.

Using a web designer

With the services of a web designer, you can have a unique website template and website customized to your specific needs. A web development team can also add features such as Flash headers or any programming needed for your site. If your company image is critical, a custom-designed site that conveys the right professional image is a must.

Using an online site builder

An online site builder is the budget way to go. With site builder programs such as Site Studio, your website can be online within minutes. A step-by-step menu allows you to choose a layout and colors, and then add a site description, a logo, and content. Your template may not be unique, but your content will.

Step 2: Set up an e-commerce store

Your customers will browse at your website, select some items, and then pay for them. When you set up an e-commerce shopping cart, you’re providing a way for your customers to bring their purchases to the cash register. The program you choose will allow you to enter your products in the database and allow shoppers to choose products when they click on -

Who Should Host Your Online Store?

February 12th, 2010 by alexander9617837

Before choosing a web hosting provider, small business owners and individuals who wish to sell online should make sure their host is capable of supporting some of the various e-commerce software solutions. For example, shopping cart software such as Magento or Zen Cart have very specific requirements that not all web hosts are able to meet.

There are dozens of popular shopping cart systems, both commercial and free, each written for a specific database structure or programming language such as PHP or ASP. A host’s flexibility and willingness to change your server configuration for optimal performance of your e-commerce software is a big consideration for a would-be online retailer.

For those wishing to offer their products on the Web, Yahoo Small Business Web Hosting offers the best of both worlds — attractive and functional e-commerce capability built into your account, or the freedom to choose a third-party e-commerce package.

Many small businesses use Yahoo’s web hosting to create online stores at low monthly rates. Yahoo makes set up and maintenance extremely easy, a factor that attracts many users who don’t want to get bogged down in the technicalities of running a dynamic site. Yahoo’s e-commerce solution is integrated seamlessly with their Small Business Web Hosting, and is a great option if you want to get your store off the ground quickly.

If you prefer to use another e-commerce system, some of the most popular include CubeCart, Zen Cart, osCommerce, and the new Magento. With the exception of CubeCart, these programs are free, and all can be completely customized by a competent programmer or designer. Thousands of successful online sellers utilize these content management systems to do business online.

Whether you choose Yahoo’s Small Business solutions or another provider, be sure that your web host is able to meet all the system requirements for a particular software package. Some hosts meet some, but not all. And while this is usually “passable”, your site’s performance and reliability may be affected if it is not being run in its optimal environment.

It’s easy to see if a web host supports a given package. E-commerce systems list their requirements, and you can usually compare these against those displayed by a host. Or, you can simply contact the hosting provider and ask if they support the software you want to use.

Php Developers

Build Your Own Website

February 11th, 2010 by alexander9617837

The Basic Steps

1) First, decide which will best meet your needs: a blog or a traditional website. Both can host ads. A blog is considered more informal, although you can put anything up there you want - photos, movies, advice, learning materials. Choose a website if you need to look professional, sell your services, or sell products.

2) Next, choose a package in which to put your content. Wordpress, Blogger, and Blogstream are just a few packages for blogs. Joomla is one of the main packages used for websites. The good news? They’re free.

3) Decide on your domain name and register it. You can register at many places, such as Dotster.com, GoDaddy.com, or Register.com. Each of these sites will take you through the steps, and make sure the domain name you choose has not already been taken.

4) Either package - the blog or Joomla - takes you through the set-up. Their help services are excellent, and both have forums you can join.

5) Now you must find what’s called a host service. The domain service is not the same as the host service - although often the same company will offer both services. Basically, domain services get you your name; hosting services provide a place or location for you to place your site.

6) Find a hosting service that is reasonably priced (compare prices between three or four services), and has a proven track record (check their website to see how long they’ve been in business). But most importantly, be sure they have 24 hour customer support with human beings who answer the telephone.

7) You will also need an ISP (Internet Service Provider) that offers either broadband DSL or cable. The dial-ups, while still less expensive, are too slow for the website creation process.

8) Once you get all this co-ordinated, you’re ready to customize your site. Both Joomla and Wordpress already have basic customization done for you. But you can change colors, pictures, columns - to suit your personal or business needs. Wordpress will take you through much of the customization process, but you may need to know some CSS when working with Joomla. CSS means Cascading Style Sheets - and it’s the language that controls the look and feel of your pages - colors, fonts, and other visual aspects. There are many free on-line tutorials and reference pages for CSS - just type it into your search engine and you’ll find them.

Content, Advertising, and Shopping Carts

For content, you can do the writing yourself, or populate your site with many excellent articles from reputable content providers such as EzineArticles. If you have the budget, hiring a freelance writer is another choice.

For advertising, many people start with Google Adsense because it’s easy to install, and automatically targets ads to your content.

Shopping carts give you the capability to sell products. You can get low cost shopping carts from Paypal and other sources, or even free shopping carts from groups like osCommerce (os stands for open source). Shopping carts, because they are obtained separately, must be installed onto your site.
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Oscommerce Developers

A Review of Online Shoe Stores

February 11th, 2010 by alexander9617837

Have you searched the web lately? Shame on you if you only hit up the local shoe stores for your collection of footwear. That is really only a drop in the proverbial bucket. The Internet has so much more to offer than running from store to store and the traditional manner. Maybe you love to shop at Nordstrom’s. That is my wife’s favorite. It’s Nordstrom’s or bust for her when it comes to shoes. It’s all about their boots. But the problem is that the nearest department store doesn’t always have her size, or perhaps they no longer have a particular style in their inventory; this is when she flicks on her computer.

If you log onto Nordstrom’s online, you will clearly see a much more expansive variety of shoes. And isn’t it great to be able to shop from the comfort and safety of your own home. Just about any brand you can think of offers their goods through online shoe stores. This way they reach a much larger shopping demographic than they would through conventional means. Isn’t it time you checked out some of the major online shoe stores? I bet they have that pair you’ve been searching for. At least I know your odds for finding them will be a whole lot better than they were before.

The convenience of online shoe stores have most assuredly made it that much easier for women across the world to do their shoe shopping. Hey, I’m guessing you already know your size, right? This is why online shoe stores make perfect sense. And if you like sales, you haven’t seen nothing yet. Go online and look for a specific pair of shoes or boots. Now let all those shoe stores show you the best deals. This is the best way to guarantee the lowest prices. With online shoe stores, you can locate what you’re hunting for and grab the lowest cost at the same time.
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CSS in Flash the Return of Crisp and Legible Fonts

February 10th, 2010 by alexander9617837

CSS in ActionScript is relatively simple. The first thing we
want to do is open the Action panel and create an empty style
sheet object. Basically the idea is to load our style sheet
information in there (font size, weigh, color etc.), and then
assign that information to some text. Not only will you have
more crisp and legible fonts but more importantly, this mean you
can change details about your font in an entire Flash site by
simply editing one file. Pretty powerful stuff huh? Very handy
when clients decided they don’t like red anymore or call to tell
you that the font is too small. In the past such changes could
be very time consuming, requiring developers to go through the
whole movie editing textfield after texfield one at a time;
providing that the client was happy with the changes you’d might
get lucky and only need to run around that track once.

In my line of work I convert pre-designed web sites (web
templates) into a unique Internet project (web sites), in other
words I work with pre-made website templates. The whole basis
for using a website template is to develop fast and high-quality
website in half the time that it would normally take a regular
design studio to do the same. Utilizing style sheets with my
Flash templates enables me to keep my production time at a
minimum and ultimately the time I save will benefit my clients.
For detail instruction on how to create a style sheet object in
Flash MX 2004 simply open the help panel and search under the
keywords -

Peru - The Magic Country

February 10th, 2010 by alexander9617837

Benjamin Bratt (actor): His movies include: Shadown Hunter (1992), Demolition Man (1993), Kill or Be Killed (1993), Woman Undone (1995) and Exiled (1998).

Yma Sumac (actress and singer): Sumac was born in Peru. She has American citizen.

Helena Christensen (Model): Like Fernanda Tavares, Elsa Benitez and Juncal Rivero, she was a spectacular super-model in Europe in the United States in the 1990s. In 1986 Helena had been elected Miss Denmark.

Alejandro “Alex” Olmedo (tennis player): Was born in Arequipa (Peru). Like Mary Jo-Fernandez, Richard “Pancho” Gonzalez, Alex became American citizen. He came to the United States from Lima as a schoolboy. He is the only Latin American who has won one Wimbledon Tournament (1959).Alejandro played many times for the United States and he won at the 1958 Davis Cup

DID YOU KNOW THAT -

Commission Blueprint Review - Real Income System Or Scam?

February 8th, 2010 by alexander9617837

Is Commission Blueprint a scam or a real income system? Even before its launch on 27 Aug, this product is getting tons of attention from even top marketers like Alex Goad and Chris X. To know the answer, read this complete Commission Blueprint review to find out.

What is the Commission Blueprint all about? It is a full package to make money selling products from Clickbank using Adwords. So in short, it is a Clickbank/Google income system, but not another one with the likes of Affiliate Conspiracy or Free Google Ads.

You may not have heard of Tim Godfrey or Steven Clayton, the two creators of this system. But they are not some amateurs who managed to come up with a home run. Rather, these are experienced marketers. Tim has been marketing successfully in the online gambling industry, a very competitive and highly lucrative market not suitable for everyone. Steven has a wealth of corporate marketing experience and now runs a company managing Adwords campaigns for client companies.

The earnings of over $524,000 in a short 7 month period are testament of the Commission Blueprint’s success. No stones are unturned as they reveal every single trick and tip they applied to reap such results are disclosed in the product. The beauty of this is that they managed to achieve such fantastic sales figures selling in non-money making markets. This surely has vast potential in niche marketing.

If you download the package, you will find a series of videos, guides and even ready-made templates that you can use out of the box. On the overall, this is a complete income system that any marketer can use to milk profits from all types of niche markets.

As you will realize soon enough, the guides and tutorials make it very simple for their users to learn how to select top sellers, research and find keywords that are cheap but yet convert well, how to create killer templates and content with high quality score and how to extract maximum profits from winners.

Within this whole package, you will find more than 14 videos, 5 PDFs and 3 killer templates. Read about how to increase opt-ins and create solid review landing pages.

The truth is, while the market has so many products teaching you about Adwords, none is as unique as this. The topics taught while fundamental are laden with underground secrets that even gurus may not know. That said, it is not perfect as the learning curve for their advanced techniques can be steep especially for newbies. After all, the product did not promise that it is as easy as frying an egg. However, other than learning how to manage the campaigns, you also have access to the landing page templates that are proven to draw high conversions. With such a formidable combination of training and tools, it is hard to lose with Commission Blueprint.
Php Developers

Codeigniter Development

Education and The Internet

February 8th, 2010 by alexander9617837

The World Wide Web has opened up information to such an extent that some people are comparing it to some kind of neural network. Wikipedia hopes to one day hold the sum of all human knowledge, and in doing so makes accessing any kind of information as easy as knowing where to look for it. If this is a metaphor for the human mind then it is perhaps missing a little poetry, but the point is made, we know where to look for answers

Having this much knowledge ready to be tapped into surely holds exciting prospects for education, but it would be wise to keep tags on how our children access it, after all we would be making a mistake to let go of old models for the education when we have yet to understand how the new models actually impact them.

Academic learning used to be a thing that held a certain gravitas, after all learning for learning’s sake is a relatively new thing picked up when we left the bows and arrows of our hunter gatherer existence behind. I once stayed in a village in the Amazon where the children did not concern themselves with higher purpose, but played with the things they would be using for survival a mere few years after; Pots and pans for the girls, bows and arrows for the boys. Somehow we moved our children from the dust and dirt into the playground, set the controls for the moon and here we are.

In this ascent we left a few things behind. Learning became a serious issue that separated us from destitution, both financially and morally, and any kind of fun was separated by the clang of the bell that signalled the start of lessons. The writings of Charles Dickens characterise this, and to be honest we have not really come a long way since then. We have an agenda and children are expected to fulfil it by wrote.

Children learn quite naturally. It sounds silly to say but it is true. Given the right environment and tools children will absorb knowledge. A rather perverse example is that children in our destitute inner cities are doing a great job of learning given the environment they are being presented with. They are learning to dodge the sticks and stones of deprivation to come out fighting, and given the circumstances it is hardly surprising. My point is that learning happens; it just might not be the kind of learning we want.

This is the problem with the internet. Learning is happening, but we do not trust either the medium or our children to navigate through it to get to the point we want them to get to. Our existing model of do as I ask is being supplanted by a medium that enthrals for its share of a Child’s attention.

So are we just are fooling ourselves if we think we can we can shackle either the internet or our children. The internet is an organically growing medium that reflects humanity, and any attempt to divert this flood will surely not end in success. Similarly our children are inquisitive enough to find a way around any restriction to look upon the internet’s grubby face.

So what is the answer?

We must give our children the tools to navigate the internet in safety, and these I am afraid are not kiddie safe filters, but the practical hands on experience in how, why and where to find out information.

Create simple goals and ask our children to fulfill them, finding out nuggets of information from sources we know of. Then make the goals more difficult, with more hurdles to finding it, like some internet treasure hunt.

We must also discuss the philosophies of the Internet, things like open source and shared resources that are not just the mere whimsies of geeks, but attempts by conscientious groups of people to create a true online democracy. Most importantly of all we have to understand these things ourselves, because like many things the internet can be good and bad depending on our perspective, so we had better understand where we stand now before the tide takes us, and our children with it.

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20+ Benefits of PSD-to-XHTML Conversion Services

February 8th, 2010 by alexander9617837

Nowadays PSD-to-HTML conversion services are very popular and are used extensively. But no one would ever exploit them if they were not able to give any benefits. So what do you get when you hire an external company to convert your designs (i.e., digital images in Adobe Photoshop *.psd, *.ai, etc. formats) into xHTML/CSS code?

Who uses PSD-to-HTML conversion services

Before starting discussing benefits themselves it is reasonable to consider in brief who PSD-to-xHTML/CSS conversion companies’ clients are.

Here are some of them:

a). Web design and Web development companies, graphic design studios, creative agencies — often they are regular clients and build a long-term cooperation with PSD-to-HTML providers;
b). Companies which need to develop a piece of custom software — such customers usually need to convert graphic designs into templates for content management systems (Drupal, Joomla), e-Commerce systems and shopping carts (osCommerce, X-Cart), corporate blogs (WordPress) and so forth;
c). Independent graphic designers, web freelancers — division of labor could be mutually beneficial in this case;
d). Bloggers, networkers, owners of small websites — as a rule, their orders are one-off.

Benefits of using PSD-to-xHTML/CSS services are somewhat different for each of those groups.

Benefits for companies

For companies cost and organizational benefits are usually the most essential. They embrace:

1). Cost saving — is achieved due to a number of reasons, including economies of scale typical for special-purpose, highly tailored companies like PSD-to-HTML providers;
2). Access to the best-of-breed specialists and best xHTML/CSS coding practices –Design-to-HTML conversion requires specific skills and knowledge. It is especially true when it comes to W3C standards compliance, semantic coding, cross-browser compatibility, and other modern requirements to website markups;
3). Better markup quality — as a result of the above;
4). Design-to-xHTML/CSS conversion time decreasing;
5). Total project turnaround improvement;
6). Easy and fast assistance in the periods of overload;
7). No need to rent additional office space;
8). Better customer satisfaction;
9). More efficiency and flexibility in core revenue-producing activities;
10). Better honed company’s business focus.

Benefits for Web and design professionals

Needless to say that to know the basics of HTML or CSS and to have hands-on experience and to keep abreast of the latest tendencies is like apples and oranges. So if xHTML/CSS coding isn’t your main focus in web design then hiring a PSD-to-HTML provider, you get rid of in-depth study of xHTML, coding and debugging markups, finding and collecting CSS tricks and tutorials.

Therefore, our list of benefits is continued with:

11). No need to learn in detail HTML / CSS / XHTML / AJAX / W3C standards / 508 Standards / WCAG / and so on, and so forth;
12). No need to bother how to solve different markup problems (e.g., overcome peculiarities of IE, etc) — that in itself can definitely save some nerves;
13). More time and energy for design, customer care, promotion, after all, for recreation;
14). More design orders completed;
15). As a result, an opportunity to gain more money — not out of place in these uncertain times.

Benefits for individuals

16). Professional look and feel of your website or blog;
17). Speed optimized markup — users and search engines prefer quick websites;
18). Cross-browser website — she/he won’t say it looks bad in their favorite browser;
19). W3C validity — your website is WWW Consortium standards compliant, it is like a prestigious seal of approval;
20). Semantic coding — it helps search engines to understand and rank your web pages better;
21). Authority — xHTML/CSS table-less templates and themes are trendy now.

Of course, the list is not completely comprehensive. But even in that form it evidently shows that there are enough weighty reasons to use PSD-to-HTML conversion companies.
Php Developers

Php Developers