To Watch - Banas Tutorial

Banas Tutorial

Good for Beginning Programmers

Domain Names - A Better Solution

From Broad Side of the Barn Blog - Ditch GoDaddy

"Yet my complaint about Godaddy is due to their customer service and business practices. I strongly recommend looking for another registrar like Network Solutions or NameCheap, because GoDaddy misleads its customers and bleeds money from them through their dubious practices. The most recent example I encountered is of a client who purchased a domain and email service believing they had also signed up for a hosting account. Technically they could 'host' their domain at GoDaddy, but it was a severely limited plan that only allowed for a canned page to be 'hosted' at Godaddy, which left them without the actual service they needed..."

Read more - Ditch GoDaddy at NH Web Development site, Broad Side of the Barn

HTML5 Introduced

From Wikipedia - HTML5

Following its immediate predecessors HTML 4.01 and XHTML 1.1, HTML5 is a response to the observation that the HTML and XHTML in common use on the World Wide Web are a mixture of features introduced by various specifications, along with those introduced by software products such as web browsers, those established by common practice, and the many syntax errors in existing web documents.[citation needed] It is also an attempt to define a single markup language that can be written in either HTML or XHTML syntax. It includes detailed processing models to encourage more interoperable implementations; it extends, improves and rationalises the markup available for documents, and introduces markup and application programming interfaces (APIs) for complex web applications.[3] For the same reasons, HTML5 is also a potential candidate for cross-platform mobile applications. Many features of HTML5 have been built with the consideration of being able to run on low-powered devices such as smartphones and tablets. In December 2011 research firm Strategy Analytics forecast sales of HTML5 compatible phones will top 1 billion in 2013.

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NH Web - Kanu Cosmetics - Maine Tool Maker - Oboe Machine

Shopping Cart Scalability

In my last article I had a number of Miva complaints. One of them being that Miva has given up on the little guy starting an e-commerce business. However in fairness, there are a number of carts and e-commerce solutions that are not scalable. Some like Miva cater to the developer – in Miva’s case a particular circle of Miva developers/programmers - others cater newbies creating a super simple application that lacks the ability to grow the user and their store. Obviously, with the myriad of cart and e-commerce solutions out there there is range to what is offered. Small and simple may work for some, but for those who are looking to grow it is important to consider both what is needed now and what will be needed in the future.

3DCart shopping cart software offers an excellent scalable solution. They do this on two fronts. First, this is done via price. The entry-level plan is $19.99 a month. They then it steps up in price as more space, bandwidth, and features are needed. However, the real reason 3DCart is such a good choice for those looking for a scalable solution is that they cater to all levels of user. It is easy to use for beginners, as it has templates and easy interface for those new to e-commerce. However, it also allows users to directly edit the css and html. Further more it allows easy editing of non-product and non-category pages. Other carts don’t always allow this, and some that do like Miva make it far more difficult that necessary.

Finally, 3DCart has an open API for developers to create custom applications via XML. This is important for a couple different reasons. First, it means that developers are creating apps and plug-ins that can bring added functionality to your cart - some free, some for a price. Fortunately, 3DCart is feature rich so you may never need an add-on, however, the option is there. Secondly, while the individual user may not see themselves developing custom apps, it is an excellent option to have. The open API means there are plenty of programmers/developers who can help customize the cart if specific ordering/processing solutions are needed. This is something offered by serious e-commerce providers, and is generally overlooked by those catering to the beginner. So while 3DCart is highly competitive and scalable in terms of cost, it is vital to look beyond your current business needs to see what is also needed down the road. This is where 3DCart excels.

3DCart offers a free trial period - an excellent way to see if they really do fit your needs.

Don't Wake Me Up Cat

Realize this isn't real, but it still made me laugh. Apparently, I'm more cat-like than I knew :)

3dCart Taking Over from Dated Cart Solutions like Miva

I've been working in e-commerce for the last ten years. The first site I worked on used a simple asp script for ordering that quickly passed by the wayside. Then the switch was made to Miva 4. This was a definite step up, but then Miva upgraded to version 5, I switched to a different cart. However, I came back to recently Miva 5 - unfortunately.

Miva has some good ideas, but support for the product is terrible. Basic level support through your host varies and depends on your host. Anything above and beyond requires Miva's atrocious support. Also, Miva has traded in on its initial popularity as one of the most popular carts and basically trapped its users into using a handful of developers to make their site usable. This is because Miva uses it's own language on the programming end. There are pluses and minuses to this language/system; the biggest minus being you have to learn a new language to work with Miva's back-end or hire someone who knows it. The second major problem with Miva is that it uses modules that the site owners have to purchase on top of their cart to add functionality to their site. The premise isn't bad. However, unlike Miva 4 Miva 5 is barely usable without at least some modules. At this point they have simply fallen well behind the curve on what a cart should offer at its base level.

While working on a less well know (non-Miva) cart, it became clear that we needed to change systems. This is when I came across the 3DCart Shopping Cart Software. It was well reviewed on a number of bulletin boards, and they offer a 15 day free trial for the user to see if it will work for them. I tried it - I love it. First off, importing and exporting is done using Excel based CSV files - ie. a spreadsheet. No need for XML or third party interpreters. Second, editing products is very easy, editing categories is fairly easy. It comes in with numerous built in templates that you can edit significantly if you are familiar with CSS and HTML. Even if you don't know HTML and CSS you can still make changes to graphics, colors, and fonts simply. Depending what level of cart you use, mailing lists, reports, twitter and facebook updates, shopping engines feeds, and much more are built in at no extra charge. 3DCart offers a wide range of payment gateways that are easy to set up and use. Order processing is effective, feature rich, yet simple. Finally, for those using Miva or another popular shopping cart, 3dCart offers a conversion service for an easy switch over. In short 3dCart is very affordable, easy to use, and feature rich - good for newbies and experts alike. Right now if you sign up for 3dCart you'll save 10%. It is certainly worth trying out.