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Strore Front Templates

Last post 05-27-2008 6:31 PM by viivian. 12 replies.
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05-18-2008 9:20 AM
viivian Joined on 03-31-2008 Posts 27
Strore Front Templates

Hello OLSB Community,

I am trying to use my OLSB website as a Online Merchandise Store. Dilemma, I do not want to use Store Manager for this purpose.

I am learning about Pre Made Store Front & Gift Shop Templates. Does anyone know if OLSB websites can use these Pre Made Templates for

Online Store/ Gift Shop websites? Or do I have to use Store Manager to sell online with a OLSB website?

I have tried OLXT Free Version for a shopping cart and I have too many products to display and sell. I also did not want my Store Manager to have his name on it - OLXT Store Manager. It is shared and the name could not be edited. Not too mention, my knowledge and skills are not advanced enough to figure out how to set up with the product inventory.

I wanted one Pay Pal button on every product page for all the items listed on that page for purchase, I have not been able to figure it out yet. I continue to have to make individual Cart buttons for single  item purchases.

So I am looking into Pre Made Templates which comes with Shopping Cat Script for OS Commerce. I am hoping it is easier, to cut and paste HTML into a module and have a nice new looking ecommerce website on my OLSB.  

Please advise,

Vivian

 

 

05-18-2008 9:53 AM In reply to
scybyte Joined on 02-11-2008 New Columbia, PA. USA. Posts 1,433
Re: Strore Front Templates

Hello vivian:

 

For my e-commerce solution I just use paypal with office live. It is safe, secure, easy to install, easy to use, low cost and promotes customer trust. There are also other office live website that use the paypal solution a example can be seen at Gypsy Ribbons http://gypsyribbons.com/default.aspx I have found that many or the other e-commerce solutions offered for use with office live do not comply with the Better Business Bureau's online security standards (regardless of what others might say if you hit "add to cart" or "view cart" and you do not have a secure connection your solution fails and you loose customer trust)

 

 

 

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05-18-2008 1:22 PM In reply to
viivian Joined on 03-31-2008 Posts 27
Re: Strore Front Templates

Hi Gary,

Thanks for sharing. As far as Paypal is concerned, that is my dilemma---the HTML code for the cart to be placed on the bottom of every product page. Nice Gypsyribbons web page...As far as the concept of your web page, that is what I am trying to accomplish with my site.  It showed me my navigation on the side is done correctly on my site...LOL..laughing out loud.... 

What about the store front template? Are Pre Fab templates compatible with OLSB? If not, what is the template requirements for compatibility, in general? Assuming the template is created with CSS or HTML style coding, color scheme, shopping cart features, etc...

 Vivian

05-18-2008 1:26 PM In reply to
viivian Joined on 03-31-2008 Posts 27
Re: Strore Front Templates

OLSB Great Minds,

 All the advisors of this forum, which are too many to list, I need to hear your opinions and feedback on this one.

You know who you are, so I will not list any names..

Vivian

05-18-2008 9:44 PM In reply to
scybyte Joined on 02-11-2008 New Columbia, PA. USA. Posts 1,433
Re: Strore Front Templates

Hello Vivian:

 

I was waiting for one of the OLSB Great Minds to answer but I think you might have scared them so you will have to settle with me. I use templates for my e-commerce solution to do a page at a time (I use Dreamweaver with a PayPal addon from WebAssist) and then just copy and paste the whole page into a html module so I would not see a problem with you also using premade templates where you could use a html editor to add your buttons to the template and then just copy the code to html module. The restrictions for the templates would be that all the special html code was in the body area of the html template. I am stuck on stupid when it comes to CSS but hopefully one of the masters will stop by and answer that part of the question for you.

 

 

 

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05-18-2008 11:36 PM In reply to
viivian Joined on 03-31-2008 Posts 27
Re: Strore Front Templates

Hello Gary, 

You are right, not one of the Great Minds are biting. LOL...Laughing Out Loud...I know they are out there..LOL..I am glad to her that a premade template does have a chance with OLSB. I was interested in using the CSS version opposed to HTML. CSS seems to be able to give the page a vibrant colorful look, opposed to HTML. I think it is coding.

Thanks, I appreciate your help. I know one of the Great Minds out there will post their thoughts to my posting.

 

Vivian

05-19-2008 12:18 AM In reply to
royster Joined on 02-12-2008 Posts 1,478
Re: Strore Front Templates

Hi viivian,

Could you send us the link to the templates you are referring to? In general, HTML and CSS will work without any issue on OLSB. However, what I need to know is how the shopping cart features are being integrated with the template. That could be a source of issue if it depends on any server-side logic. Alternatively, you may need to modify these templates and integrate with Paypal, Google Checkout, etc. as Gary suggested.

Royster 

05-19-2008 12:49 PM In reply to
Advisor-Norris Joined on 03-12-2008 Atlanta,GA Posts 199
Re: Strore Front Templates

Hi Vivian,

I've had some experience with using pre-made store fronts and they only work if your OLSB site has the 3rd party design tools enabled. Depending on who you select as you store front you will need to look for several things:

 

  1. Do they provide the store front files to upload to your site?
  2. Are there any special Add-on components required to be installed on the server?
  3. Do they provide a web interface for adding/updating products?
  4. What payment methods do they support (PayPal, Google Checkout, etc.)?
  5. Is hosting the store front provided as an option?

 

I just want to note. As far as enabling your site for 3rd party design tools, I would suggest that you create a new OLSB site and enable the 3rd party design tools. Then, place a Store link on your main site (using the Office Live Web Design tool) to the Store Front site.  You may be wondering if you need Dreamweaver or SharePoint Designer in this case. The anwser is no, if the store front service you select provides all the HTML & CSS files. All you will need to do is copy and paste the files into your web folder. 

 

Good luck in your hunt. And please feel free to drop back in and let us know who you selected before committing. I'm sure anyone here can suggest for or against a store front based on the technical information they provide.  Other than that. I believe you know my preference is the OLSB Store Manager.

 

Norris

 

05-19-2008 1:27 PM In reply to
scybyte Joined on 02-11-2008 New Columbia, PA. USA. Posts 1,433
Re: Strore Front Templates

Thank you Royster and Advisor-Norris for the assist

 

Gary
New Mountain Tavern   Silver Moon Furniture
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05-20-2008 7:12 PM In reply to
teddarling Joined on 04-22-2008 USA Posts 26
Re: Strore Front Templates

Let me add a little to what Royster added here about other templates. You mentioned templates for OS Commerce. Having spent years  programming with PHP, I can tell you that it will not be easy just taking an OS Commerce template and applying it to OLSB. There is plenty of logic embedded in the templates. Not only that, PHP is in no way supported by OLSB.

Now in defense of those that build applications such as the cart from OLXT (I have not used the cart or seen it in action) and the comments about the security, I can say that the issue is not an SSL enabled connection when adding items to a cart or viewing the cart. The issue is when collecting information from the user such as payment information. In fact, here is a little brief from the BBB Online website:

Use industry standard levels of encryption and authentication for the transfer or receipt of health care information, social security numbers, financial transaction information (for example, a credit card number), or other sensitive information,

The contents of a shopping cart is not senitive information. 

Now, if you are accepting credit cards and storing them in your OLSB private site, then you would be in violation and I would be one of the first to point that out. However, keeping information about a cart in a cookie (probably how OLXT does looking at examples of private site) or even adding items to a cart in a private OLSB site would not be a security risk. Then a person can send all items at once to PayPal (Don't know how Google CheckOut works) and the collection of information is secure and meets the needs of the BBB as well.

Also, the OP complains about having a solution providers information on a the website. I'm sorry if it upsets you, but please understand, the creator of that application is offering you an item to use at no charge. In my mind, you should provide all the links that you can back to their site and possibly even donate to their efforts. That's how stuff is made free online.

When you use Firefox, IE, Word or any other program, the name of the product is there and many of those applications are paid for applications. I'm sorry, but if you are going to complain about what developers offer for free, you will see less and less of those items available for your use. We have to make a living as well, but we do like to give stuff away in appreciation, please appreciate those that offer you the free items.

Ted 

05-20-2008 7:43 PM In reply to
Advisor-Norris Joined on 03-12-2008 Atlanta,GA Posts 199
Re: Strore Front Templates

Well said, Ted.

 

It is crucial that your ecommerice service utilizes SSL encryption.

 

We must keep in mind that FREE is not always the best option. Sometimes, you have to look at your return on your investment (ROI) for a paid service as a result of a superior service.

 

Just my two cents :)

 

Norris 

05-20-2008 8:00 PM In reply to
royster Joined on 02-12-2008 Posts 1,478
Re: Strore Front Templates
05-27-2008 6:31 PM In reply to
viivian Joined on 03-31-2008 Posts 27
Re: Strore Front Templates

Hello OLSB Community,

Thank you for the feedback. It is just what I needed in order to determine if a Pre Made Store Template would be an option to my creative Website Designing methods. After research and boy have I learned alot, Pre Made Store Front Templates is not a good option for OLSB. PHP is the source for everything and the editing software and programming skills needed to have a functionable site are not available.

Thanks for everyone's assistance,

 

Vivian

 

 

 

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