ShopSite v6 Upgrade

ShopSite version 6 is now available. Click here for more information on upgrading and getting access to some of the following new features:

UPS Rates and Services Selection
Electronic Couponing
Digital Downloads
Fraud Protection (CVV2)
Download Orders in QuickBooks Format
Opt-In E-Mail Marketing

ShopSite v6 Quotes

If the list of great new features isn't enough to get you to upgrade maybe some unsolicited quotes from actual ShopSite users will. Some of you may be wondering if v6 is really all we say it is. Well don't take our word for it, here's what users are saying in e-mails to us and on the ShopSite Newsgroup.

"I upgraded to 6.0 to get a digital coupon discount feature and it works great. I made a form for the cart now and the code that the digital coupon generates can be used in the basket. Cool feature!"

If anyone is on the fence about upgrading or buying 6.0, the improvement in the AVS (Address Verification Service) by itself would be worth it. ... Also since CVV2 will be, and in some cases is required, this program does it great and offers the customer help with CVV2. So far I am very impressed! If you don't have 6.0, you should upgrade."

"I've been using v6 for a few weeks now and I can definitely say, that as someone doing a lot of editing, etc. the Preview button in the Pages section is awesome! It's saved me bunches of time and has kept messed up pages from going live before they're ready. Thanks!"

"We just went live with [ShopSite 6] yesterday. I like it ... it's a solid program. One great thing is the upload and publish. It's NOTICEABLY faster generation of pages is great.

Feature Profile: Coupons

Coupons are a powerful new marketing tool in ShopSite Pro v6. Some of the things you can do with ShopSite coupons include:

Offer a percent or dollar amount off the total purchase (e.g. 10% off any order placed before the end of the month.)
Offer a percent or dollar amount off a specific product or group of products (e.g. $5 off all Stephen King novels.)
Require that a minimum dollar amount be purchased before the coupon is honored (e.g. 10% off when you order totals $30.)
Require that a minimum number of products be purchased before the coupon is honored (e.g. $2 off all CDs when you buy 3 or more.)

ShopSite Coupons can be either a URL (link) or a code that the shopper enters. As a URL you can e-mail coupons out or place a link promoting a special on other web sites. With the code you can place the coupon on flyers, brochures, newspaper ads and other non-electronic media.

You can set the date a coupon expires and thus create an urgency to their use or not have to worry about honoring an old coupon that you had forgotten about.

For more information on coupons read the On-line help FAQ. To see coupons in action place a test order in our demo store Al's Tools (click on the 10% off image on the left.)

Merchant Tip

The following was posted on the ShopSite Newsgroup:

"Is there a credit card 'dummy' number you can use to place a test order? I've been using one of my credit card numbers and received a call from Discover card about potential fraud usage."

Solution

To test my cart, I select Visa and use 4111 1111 1111 1111 with any future expiration date. This will work if you are not using a real-time payment gateway (such as Authorize.Net or Verisign). If you are using a payment gateway you typically can put them in test mode and then the above number will always pass. To see a failure in test mode enter 0000 0000 0000 0000.

Stephanie

Submit a Tip
Do you have a marketing or ShopSite tip you'd like to share with other merchants? If so, submit it to

The "Support Queue"

Q: Authorize.Net recently sent out two notices regarding changes to their Payment Gateway. One notice is regarding the possible need for a Referrer URL and the other is about sending the password with every transaction. Do I need to modify ShopSite to use these new settings?

A: Because ShopSite uses Authorize.Net's ADC DIRECT response method it is not affected by the new requirement to include the referrer URL. In fact you should not modify your Authorize.Net account to require the referrer URL or ShopSite will not be able to communicate with Authorize.Net

While not yet required, Authorize.Net now recommends that the password be passed to Authorize.Net when any transaction is authorized. In ShopSite v6 the password is sent for authorizations and settlements. In versions prior to v6 ShopSite sent the password only for settlements (Billed) not during authorizations (ordering). If you are using ShopSite v5 or earlier you should not turn on the Authorize.Net 'require password on all transactions' feature.

For more information on the above you can also read the Knowledgebase article.

Industry Articles

Online Sales on Rise, but Many Buyers Wary

www.crmdaily.com/perl/story/17390.html

Consumer WebWatch offers guidelines on what consumers need to improve the credibility of online merchants.

Some of the guidelines are:

Web sites should disclose the physical location where they are produced, including an address, telephone number or e-mail address. Ownership, purpose and mission should also be clearly disclosed.
Web sites should clearly distinguish news and information from advertising.
Financial relations should be disclosed, particularly when the relationships affect the cost to a consumer. Fees for service, transactions, shipping and handling should be clearly disclosed.
Privacy policies should be easy to find and clearly and simply stated. Web sites should clearly disclose how a customer's personal information will be used.

How Small Players Can Win Big Online

www.ecommercetimes.com/perl/story/16900.html

'Once the site is built, the small player still must stand out from the crowd. One way to accomplish this is by establishing uniqueness. "A key factor for the small guys is to focus on a niche product area or a niche geography," said Andrew Bartels, e-business analyst at Giga Information Group.'

Current Product Information

Most recent release of ShopSite:

6.0.3 (On Linux, Solaris/SPARC, Irix, FreeBSD or BSDI servers)
5.0.1.6 (On Windows servers)

To upgrade your ShopSite store, contact your authorized reseller hosting partner.

Subscribe Today!

This newsletter will help you as a ShopSite user to keep up to speed with the developments of our software. To subscribe to this newsletter, send an email to Merchant-News-request@shopsite.com and place the word "subscribe" (without the quotes) in the body of your message.