May 13, 2013

Top 10 E-commerce Design Mistakes

At Customer Paradigm, we know what it takes to properly develop and aesthetically pleasing and functional E-commerce website. We have some of the absolute best Magento Programmers and Magento Developers in Colorado, so if you are in need of Magento Programming yourself, give us a call! Beyond website development, we are also a specialized Colorado SEO agency, so for all of your Colorado SEO needs, contact us now!

E-Commerce Design Mistakes To Avoid

E-commerce websites are a relatively new territory for both buyers and sellers, and as a result much traditional retail wisdom does not carryover to the web. Though many business professionals view websites as simple ads for their products, in reality e-commerce sites need to account for essentially all aspects of the real-world shopping experience to successfully attract and engage consumers. To safeguard against the common pitfalls of e-commerce website design, check out the 10 most common design mistakes.

Hard-to-use checkouts

Usability is crucial for e-commerce websites, as it defines how intuitive, convenient and effective a customer’s online experience will be. A poorly designed website that suffers usability issues can easily frustrate customers into giving up on a purchase mid-checkout. Quality e-commerce sites make a point of creating optimal usability during checkout. The best checkout system let customers make purchases with or without having to log in, and they carryover users’ information when they do log in to help them save time and effort. Also, having as many payment options as possible and making shipping rates and policies obvious from the get-go helps improve the user experience and save customers a lot of worry.

Denying customers a good look

When you keep a customer from getting a close-up look of your items, you might as well be redirecting them to the mall from whence they came. E-commerce sites should maximize the interactive experience for users while offering their products apt visual representation. If you can’t find the means to put in multidimensional, rotating views or videos, simply including a series of high-resolution product shots from differing angles can still work wonders. And finally, all products deserve professional-quality photography, whether your goods are on eBay or on American Apparel.

Neglecting search and discovery features

Having an obvious and easy-to-use search feature is expected of just about every website in this day and age, so e-commerce site owners have no excuses when it comes to the search bar. But products should be not only searchable, but also discoverable. Product discovery is akin to the window-shopping experience of a mall. On the web, customers can’t glance to a neighboring aisle and have their attention caught by something different. But product suggestions can absolutely compensate for it. Amazon knows this. Pinterest knows this. And now you know it.

Omitting product details

Trust is absolutely vital to e-commerce. Hoping your customers trust your word regarding product color and quality is one thing. Hoping your customers trust you enough to buy blindly is another. Just like limiting visual product previews to a singular, tiny image hurts the customer’s shopping experience, obscuring or omitting crucial information in written form does it all the same. In order to feel confident in your products, customers want all the information you can give. They want details, details, and more details — both visually and in writing.

Providing cause for insecurity

One of the biggest hindrances to consumer trust in e-commerce is the absence of privacy policies. Obscure and hard-to-find privacy policies are equivalent to entirely absent ones. You can also increase your customers’ security by using reliable and reputable credit-card processing services and making sure to protect their personal information — especially if you intend on asking for a lot of it. Compared to physical stores, there are fewer barriers to setting up an e-commerce site, and that’s why e-commerce sellers need to take all available measures to make customers feel safe and secure from the start.

Forgetting about customer service

In line with combating e-commerce-inherent trust issues, websites should make a big emphasis on customer service, making the online experience easily translate into a personal connection when possible. As such, contact info should be made obvious on e-commerce pages, and customers should be able to get a hold of a real person on the phone or at least have their questions answered caringly and promptly via email or other methods. Good e-customer service is a huge step in bridging the gap between physical and digital stores, so be sure not to neglect your contact information.

Overdoing product categories

While having a lot of product categories might seem like a good way to beef up the perceived size of one’s inventory, it tends to do the opposite when the categories are too specific, ambiguous or overall lacking in products. Worse yet, it can confuse and overwhelm customers and prevent them from finding what they want. A strong category list should be intuitive, helpful and relevant to customers from all backgrounds, especially if you sell niche products.

Underestimating the importance of aesthetics

Website aesthetics give customers their first impression of your company and products. Customers’ perceptions of credibility are established instantaneously, making their trust in your products and services essentially a gut reaction in regard to your appearance. Now more than ever, having an attractive website can really pay off. That’s why e-commerce websites simply cannot afford to be anything but beautiful. Certainly, beauty is subjective, but pairing high-quality, professional images with a clean, organized and logical layout leaves relatively little room for error or complaint.

Trying to fit too much on the homepage

While it is crucial to give customers as much (relevant) information as possible, one common mistake on e-commerce sites is wrapped up in being informationally over-ambitious on the landing page. Think of your landing page as your store window. It should engage potential customers with a glimpse of something desirable, offering visually appealing imagery, catchy and concise writing and an emotional hook. It should not feel like a page out of a catalog, drowning customers in hard-to-decipher details. Landing pages should leave customers wanting more—not leave them scrambling for the door.

Trying to do it all yourself

Finally, the biggest mistake e-commerce professionals can make is trying to save money by doing everything themselves. When cost-cutting measures are taken as far as putting under-qualified individuals behind the wheel of website development, design and marketing efforts, it typically does more harm than good. Tasks that are fast and easy for professionals become costly learning challenges that often result in emotional attachment to subpar work. Worse yet, it can spread you too thin to focus on other important matters. Design may look easy but, like anything else, it’s best left to the professionals.

 

The author of this piece was Olga Kharitonova, an experienced Magento Project Manager from Customer Paradigm. 

 

Need help with eCommerce design? Call 303.473.4400 or click here to have a real person contact you now >>

Apr 10, 2013

Upgrading to Magento Enterprise 1.13 – Introduced by Roy Rubin

At the Magento Imagine Conference today, Tuesday, April 9, 2013, Roy Rubin announced the release of Magento Enterprise Edition version 1.13

Magento Enterprise 1.13 Announced

Magento Enterprise 1.13 Announced by Roy Rubin, founder of Magento

The biggest benefits to Magento Enterprise Edition (EE) 1.13 are all performance related. These improvements are the hardest to describe to a customer, but for large accounts, are the area that Magento has been most lacking in.

We have received a lot of inquiries over the past 2 years of customers trying to squeeze the most out of Magento  We always have some way or another to help them, but the truth is just that Magento is somewhat clunky. The improvements I’ve seen in 1.13 indicate that Magento feels the same way, and the core team is making every effort to remedy that issue (an effort that I hope will come to full fruition in 2.0)

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Redis Support

Magento EE 1.13 now support Redis NoSQL as a cacheing session storage solution. I’m not yet sure of the specifics, but this could provide an advantage over memcached — and Magento now recommends using redis on new deployments. It’s not that redis is “faster” in terms of storing cached values, but it has more support for storing objects (I’m getting into some pretty technical stuff here, but the point is, this could be a better cacheing solution assuming the Magento core team implements it correctly). However, I’m not sure how long it will take for hosting solutions like pier1/nexcess to support Redis.

 

Reindexing

As many of you may have encountered, re-indexing is a pain in the @$$. Especially on sites with large (10,000+ SKUs) catalogs. EE 1.13 supports mysql database triggers as a means of keeping the indexes up to date, and it makes re-indexing an incremental process rather than an en masse process. The Magento core team has also limited the number of instances where a full re-index is required (hopefully never once the store is setup)

From the Magento article:

In Magento Enterprise Edition 1.12, any change to a product would result in a full re-index. Magento Enterprise Edition 1.13 introduces a new feature–incremental re-indexing. With incremental re-indexing, only those items that were changed or added will be re-indexed, reducing the processing time to a fraction of what was required before.

This is huge—I’ve seen stores where store owners are crippled if they update their product data, as reindexing 10,000+ products can take hours. So, this is a big plus. No longer will a store owner need to have a once-a-day product update regiment.

Also, if you look on the bench marking page: http://www.magentocommerce.com/knowledge-base/entry/ee113-performance-and-scalability-white-paper you will see significant improvement in the time required to make a full re-index (53% improvement on 500,000 SKUs!)

 

Onepage Checkout Speeds

So, whenever a user enters the checkout, Magento can’t rely on all the fancy cacheing layers. And, it’s a known problem that onepage checkout is slow; this is the whole reason onestepcheckout exists. But, even that (I’ve noticed) has problems related to the amount of time it takes to return shipping rates, payment methods, and order review steps.

See this link: http://www.magentocommerce.com/images/uploads/2184-1.13_Benchmark_Report_Checkout_Flow_r1v1.png

You will notice the checkout has been extremely optimized in terms of the amount of time it takes to perform one of these operations. As to the effect that has on the core code, I’m not yet sure. I’m really hopeful this feature will be in CE 1.8 as well.

From the benchmark page:

During our testing, which simulated a storefront running at peak hours, EE 1.13 executed 33% more orders and 31% more page views than Magento Enterprise Edition 1.12 on the multi-node benchmarking configuration. Notably, Magento Enterprise Edition 1.13 served 47K pages during the test run (10 minutes).

This is also a big improvement…once again, it’s only targeted at high volume sites, but I can think of several customers that would benefit from this.

 

MySQL Performance

I’d like to highlight one of the observations made in the bench marking article:

  • The MySQL instance did not show any significant signs of CPU or I/O load during the tests.
    • The CPU was under 10% and no queries exceeded a 2-second threshold.

I’ve noticed that MySQL seems to be a memory and CPU hog on some instances of Magento  This observation (specifically the no queries beyond 2-second threshold) shows an improvement in the scalability of Magento from a database perspective. Now, I don’t know what Magento’s benchmark for 1.12 was, but I’ve definitely seen stores not getting near the volume that the benchmark took place with, having MySQL performance issues.

 

Improved Tax Calculations:

There had been problems with tax calculations, especially with rounding up to the one-cent and when using multiple types of currency. The tax calculation algorithm was updated to get rid of errors with rounding offsets when displayed on purchasing screens. Additional support has also been given for various nationalities, primarily Canadian.

 

Increased Overall Functionality:

A whole slew of over 350 functional improvements for the web store, shopping cart, web API, payment options, import and export functionality, and admin order creation. All of these minor improvements add up to a big difference in the end, which will drastically increase user experience, and make it easier for admins to make changes without worrying over slowing down the whole site.

Oct 30, 2012

Impact of Holiday eCommerce Shopping – MAGENTO

Is Your Website Ready For Sales?

Magento eCommerce Website SalesI’m not talking about any sales, I’m talking about holiday sales. Shoppers that are price-sensitive, impatient and quick to click to your nearest competition to get their holiday shopping done.

The holiday season is upon us and committing to the final changes to your website now can make all the difference for your sales and conversion rates.

Having the right Magento Developers can determine the success or failure of your site.

At Customer Paradigm we are Magento Certified Developers. We work hard to meet your eCommerce goals, communicate clearly with prompt project management and deliver to exceed your expectations.

 

Importance of Holiday Sales

Sometimes, words just don’t do the job. Here are some great info-graphics and statistics on holiday eCommerce consumption behaviors.

 

Magento eCommerce Development for Holidays

Revenue in the Holiday Season

  • The Holiday Season accounts for 41% of total annual revenue
  • The average conversion rate increases by 108% in December
  • It is projected that US Retail web sales will increase by about 17% this year in comparison to last years online shopping trends

 

How to Make Them Purchase

Are you asking the right questions?

  • How can I change my website to increase my conversion rate?
  • What can we offer that will make shoppers purchase with me over Amazon where they already have an account?
  • What matters to the consumer?

If you can understand what drives consumer sales, you will have a more profitable holiday season and overall profitable year. Adapting these strategies can make all the difference, start updating your Magento website today to convert for sales tomorrow!

 

Is Your Website Accessible?

With the variety of tablets, smart phones, computers with different browsers, is your site accessible and functional?

eCommerce SalesAccording to Invesp.com:

  • Shoppers via Tablets have an average sale of $110
  • Shoppers via Computers have an average sale of $95
  • Shoppers via Smartphones have an average sale of $70

What are Shoppers Doing Online?

If your store is getting a lot of visitors but the conversion rate is low, my first thought as a marketer is to understand the consumer. Get in their mindset. What are they doing online? What are they looking for? What matters to THEM?

 

Consumer Magento Online Shopping HabitsAttributes of Online Shoppers:

  • Price Sensitive – 79% of users are viewing your website to compare prices
  • Deals – 73% are looking for what you offer in deals and promotions
  • Information – 67% are reading reviews about the product
  • Substitutes – 60% are comparing specs of one model to a close substitute
  • Customer Service – 37% are trying to get in contact with you

Know & Act

The first step is understanding your consumer and what they are doing on your website, the next step is acting to satisfy their concerns while keeping them on your site.

 

 Know: Price Sensitive >> Provide Perks that Diminish Price-Sensitivity

  • Free Shipping - Influences holiday purchases by 55%
  • Payment Plans – Having multiple methods of payment plans affects purchase intent by 8%. A potential customer will be hesitant to purchase from you if they have to create a new account or your check-out process is comprised of too many steps.

Know: Deals >> Give Them Discounts, Coupons, and Incentives!

  • Daily Deals – Having daily deals increases the urgency of the purchase, making users feel if they pass up the opportunity today the price may never come back. 1 in every 4 holiday consumers purchases a daily deal.
  • Coupons – Coupons offer discounts or rewards which are an incentive to the consumer to purchase with you over not receiving any discount. Many shoppers will associate a discount as more value even if the end price is higher than a competitor.

Know: Information >> Tell Them What The Product Is

  • Descriptions – Write captivating descriptions which describe the product fulfilling every specification they will need to know. This is very important for electronic devices, the more information you provide the less a shopper will research on other sites.
  • Reviews – Get in a habit of sending automatic e-mails a few months after the purchase of an item to accrue reviews on your website. Reviews are one of the most influential factors for the final decision on whether or not to purchase.

Know: Substitutes >> Internalize the Process

  • Compare Products – Add a compare products option to your eCommerce site. If a user is debating between two camera models, allow them to perform a side by side comparison on your site rather than getting distracted and looking for alternatives on competitors eCommerce sites.

Know: Customer Service >> Be Prompt, Be Thorough

  • Above and Beyond – Remember it is much easier to retain a customer than to attain one. With this in mind, be prompt to answer requests, be thorough so it is not addressed again, and go above and beyond to ensure that they are satisfied with your services.

 

You Know, You Understand, How Will You Act?

After understanding what the consumer is going through, what they are looking for, is your website ready for Holiday eCommerce Shopping? Are you set-up to provide what consumers are looking for and keep them on your site, engaged, and purchasing?

If you are in need of Magento eCommerce development contact Customer Paradigm now at 303.473.4400 to talk to a real person about your business strategy. If your website is in need of internet marketing to create incentives and deals for your shoppers, talk to our SEO team and see how we can work to increase your conversion rates.

Oct 25, 2012

The Power of eCommerce Website Sales [Infographic]

Magento Ecommerce Results 2012

Provided by flippa.com

Growth of eCommerce

Flippa.com has provided an awesome info-graphic displaying the factors which have affected our eCommerce worlds. With the power of the internet, businesses have shifted from the large factories of work, to the ability to sit at home and be the owner of your own business online. That’s incredible!

The info-graphic to the left has been a random sampling of $26 million dollars worth of transactions over the last eighteen months. If you are an eCommerce start up you should pay attention to these trends and invest in the right direction.

2012 eCommerce Platform Demand & Supply

In 2012 the highest demanded platform is Shopify with 39.8%, with Magento coming in second with a demand of 18.3%, and finally Open Cart with a demand of 13.4%. In 2012, the supply was met by Magento platforms taking over 30.3% of supply, with Open Cart following at 11.8% of supply and finally Shopify at 5.3%.

Why would Magento be the majority of supply over Shopify? 

It’s really simple when you break it down why the demand doesn’t correlate directly with the supply. The first factor is brand awareness, new eCommerce buyers recognize Shopify whereas they are less knowledgeable about the other eCommerce platforms. The obvious reason that Magento provides the majority of supply is the ability for unlimited customization on this platform. Magento is a PHP / MySQL based framework, where Shopify is a SAAS solution. SAAS solution basically means that the core functionality of your website can not be modified.

It is clear that Magento is for the advanced eCommerce needs, if you wanted to add coupon codes to your products then Magento would be the platform for you. If you were selling extra characters for Angry Birds, then Shopify would be great for you. It is very important to match the eCommerce needs with the right platform.

 

2012 Content Management System Demand & Supply

A content management system (CMS) runs with your eCommerce platform to provide a blog for your website. This may not seem relevant to you as an eCommerce owner, but it is extremely relevant to the success of your website. Some eCommerce sites are run completed on a CMS using plug-ins or modules that are added for an online store capability.

Due to the Google Penguin update, which is an algorithm change that dictates your Search Engine Ranking Positioning (SERP). This directly affects the traffic to your website, so changes to the Google Algorithm are constantly on our SEO radar. Long story short, CMS and eCommerce websites go hand in hand.

In 2012 WordPress stole the majority demand at 82.9% and won the supply at an astounding 88.5%. The second most demanded CMS is Joomla at 4.6% and providing a supply of 3.1%.

Why is WordPress the Clear Winner?

WordPress is the clear winner because it brings simplicity, functionality, and flexibility for your website. And it’s FREE!

If you have any questions, or are interested in a WordPress website, call us at Customer Paradigm Now at 303.473.4400 to find out more information about how we can make your website a reality.

 

Custom Built Languages Demand & Supply

Very rarely do you get a website and it works exactly how you need it to function. This is where custom languages come into play in modifying your website. Some languages are: PHP, HTML, CSS, Javascript, and Ruby. In 2012 the highest demanded custom language is PHP at 46%, followed my HTML with a demand of 24%. In 2012 the supply was met by 61% PHP and following behind 21% HTML.

Customizing your website to work with functioning that you need in order to succeed can be the difference in your conversion percentage. For example, if you need to format your pages so that users are able to view products faster, that’s where PHP customization would come in handy. At Customer Paradigm it is all about the efficiency of your website to be found for the right searches, direct the customers to the right products, and check out with ease.

 

If you are needing help on your eCommerce website, Customer Paradigm is a Magento certified business. We work to develop clean, efficient and profitable websites for your business. If you would like more information on how we can make your business goals happen call us at 303.473.4400 and we would love to hear the vision you have for your business and how we can work together to make it happen.

 

Oct 15, 2012

Easy Fix for Chrome Magento Admin Login

If you are having issues logging into your Magento admin panel while using the Chrome browser then this is the PERFECT solution for you. I have read through many solutions and have found people recommending very long fixes. One blog said that I needed to downgrade my Magento platform… um, don’t do this. Needless to say, here is the solution.

First thing to do when breaking down an issue, where is the discrepancy? Because, if you are able to login to Magento through another browser such as Firefox and are having issues with Chrome, then the issue is Chrome not Magento.

problems logging into magento through Chrome browser

Problem: Chrome Unable to Login to Magento Admin Panel

Once attempting to login the system seems to be redirecting back to itself.

Issue: Cookie Settings in Chrome

Chrome likes stable sessions and its opinion is that a cookie’s which only last for only 3600 seconds (Magento’s default cookie session duration) is not alive long enough to be stable.

Fix: Set your cookie lifetime higher than the default

If you are unable to login through Chrome, login through a different internet browser to change the settings in your Magento admin panel. To set your cookie lifetime higher than the default go to: System >> Configuration >> Web >> Session Cookie Management.

Magento System Configuration Settings

 Magento Configuration Web for Cookie settingsWeb cookies for magento

Set your cookies to ’33600′ which is roughly 9 hours or some amount higher than ’3600′.

It is important to make sure that the proper cookie domain is set, Chrome, being a standard neurotic browser, doesn’t like it when cookies can’t be validated/traced to their domain.

Voila! You should be able to login to your Magento admin panel through Chrome. Let me know how it works, or if you run into any other issues.

Oct 1, 2012

Integrate Magento with eBay

Combine your Magento Store with ebay

Having a Magento eCommerce store and running your product on as many eCommerce sites as possible such as eBay or Amazon just makes sense. If your goal is to get your product out there then tapping into the already existent customer base of eBay is a smart business move.

Integrating Magento with eBay

In June 2011 eBay bought majority share with Magento and since this purchase, the integration and usability has skyrocketed. The best part the once paid for extension with M2E is now completely free. They are currently offering this extension for free, if you need help installing and modifying this extension please call us at 303.473.4400 to talk to a real person and get immediate support.

Is M2E the best Magento eBay Extension?

 Here is a quick video about the M2E extension:

Integrating Magento with eBay for Efficiency

When creating this extension the developers truly thought about the integration directly from your Magento storefront to your eBay listings. Allowing each system to work seamlessly together creates a owners dreamland for efficiency. This extension not only allows you to create and manage listings, your product stock levels on hand are constantly updated. From within the extension you can manage different Magento or eBay accounts and allow your products to be available on any of eBay’s 23 marketplaces. So wherever your eCommerce products may be categorized, there are no restrictions for where it can be listed on eBay.

Functionality of M2E for Magento

Magento Logo

Selling Format Template

This template is directly related for your eBay sales monitoring, it allows you to view all the products by the listing type, how many products you have on hand, auction duration and settings, and best offers.

Description Format Template

The description format template is used to determine the main listing attributes such as the title for your product listing, the product attributes which would characterize which categories you would filter your item into such as “Cell Phones” “Electronics”.

You are also able to add a item title and custom title which are limited to 80 characters. You are also permitted to add subtitles which are limited to 55 characters and require an extra fee. For items such as car parts that are specific down to models paying the extra fee may be worthwhile.

General Format Template

This section contains all the eBay basic settings which are required for an eBay listing, similar to what the user would need to fill out when listing a product on eBay.

Stock Level Synchronization 

This is taking care of the biggest headache for store owners, is the ability to sync the selling platforms into one inventory screen. There is nothing more frustrating than making a sale on eBay and in your store and not having enough products to get the items out. With this integrated stock level you will have one stock showing for all available products on hand.

Unlimited eBay Accounts

Set yourself up with as many eBay accounts as you need. This is great due to the fact that eBay has introduced a policy which limits the amount of products for a seller. This was a policy which was started by eBay to make sure each seller had a good history of selling before they were able to make a profit off of eBay. Currently a new seller may only sell 10 items in their first month.

Magento Designs for eCommerce Sales

In order to see more information about your products from eBay many buyers will directly visit the website or do a bit of research about the product before purchasing it. It can be difficult to determine the full value and specifications of an item based off a poorly filled out eBay product listing. It is important to be prepared for buyers to visit your site for more information.

To build a strong reputable Magento eCommerce site for your products call Customer Paradigm today at 303.473.4400 to talk to a real person about getting you an online storefront. If you are able to direct sales to your website, you may be able to keep that extra percentage that eBay takes and improve your cash flow instead of waiting till the end of the month to get paid for your eBay sales.

Sep 24, 2012

Social Media Value of Profitable Customers on Magento

Which Social Media RouteIf you keep hearing that your website needs social media plugins, then the next question is, “which ones?” With so many social media channels it is difficult to know if you need to be on all of them or just the big ones? And, most importantly what does this plugin tell me where Google Analytics fails to cover? We will go over all these questions and the solution I have found so far.

Value of Social Sharing on Magento

Being a social media enthusiast I believe that people aren’t solely on their personal profiles to watch their personal profiles grow, but they are truly there to see what is going on involving their interests and friends. Saying this, I believe the biggest mistake any business owner makes is disregarding the influence of social sharing simply because they do not understand the relation to their store and more importantly conversions. I hope that after reading this article you will re-consider your business approach to social sharing and profitability.

First, the most important reason for sharing, is that the recommendation of friends in your network tilt the tables drastically on whether or not you are more inclined to buy the product. According to Ragan.com 75% of people don’t believe that ads tell the truth about their products and around 70 percent of people are more likely to buy a product if a friend has referred it to them. Unless your product is so revolutionary or perfectly fits the need of an individual it is rare that a user will work to post your product. But, if you make it a simple push of a button, it is much more likely your product will be shared.

Make It Easy For Users to Share Your Content With Social Plug-Ins

The second reason, with every individual who is engaged with your product whether sharing, liking or even referring, your product is able to be viewed by their entire social network. Talk about a pyramid of influence!

Think of Shares As Conversions for Media Reach

 

How Google Analytics Tracks Social Media

Google Analytics offers you the full flexibility to view your engagement through social media channels.

Social Media Engagement Google

From this graph I am able to see how many visits I have received via a Social Media channel. I am also able to see a deeper breakdown of how many clicks are coming from what specific channels. This is a great way to discover which channels are driving the most traffic to your website.

You are also able to view the amount of conversions that come from social sharing, and the conversion value if your Google Conversion Tracking is set up correctly. This allows you to see the dollar amount in sales you have made directly from a user entering through a social media channel. This is very useful information if you are running a social media campaign and want to prove the profitability to a business.

If you are interested in learning more about setting up conversion tracking for your eCommerce store, pick up the phone and call Customer Paradigm today at 303.473.4400 to talk to a real person today.

 

How AddShoppers for Magento Tracks Social Media

 Add Shoppers is my favorite Social Media Tracking Extension for Magento.

Here is why, Add Shoppers takes basic information and gives you the pieces that really matter. It is great to have a large Facebook group and Twitter followers, but what if you were able to scale down

Social Media Incentives

the mass of your Facebook followers and find the top 10 most profitable customers?

Once you have found those top 10 customers, what if you could market directly to them knowing they are more likely to share and recommend? What if you knew they would be fifty-percent more likely to convert? Would that be worth targeting?

With AddShoppers Magento Extension this information becomes readily available to you. With ROI tracking that is profitable for your business model I have yet to find another extension which gives you the same level of detail.

Three levels to track Social Media ROI on:

  • Single product level or SKU
  • Influencer level of a single customers
  • Store wide level

Not only are you now able to see how people are getting to your site, but you are able to view the other side how your products are being shared. You can now view a specific product and see how it has been shared via the social media streams. You can feature your most Pinned products or shared products on your screen. With this Conversion tracking you are able to view which social networks drive sales per product.

My favorite addition which shows to me that AddShoppers really understands the influence of Social Media on Magento eCommerce is their pre-purchase rewards application. This application gives shoppers and incentive to join your social channels by offering small incentives such as 2% of your next purchase. You have the ability to set different rewards based on different channels, through this users gain an incentive to join all of your social channels.

This can be a hard concept for many business owners to get behind because it seems like you are throwing away money to get one more like on your Facebook page, or one more Twitter follower. In reality, you are essentially paying for a targeted customer base. People that have an intent to buy will like your page in order to receive 2% off.

 

I hope I have cleared some confusion about the importance of having social media channels on your Magento website. I am so happy that I have found AddShoppers, if you are interested in getting this extension for your Magento eCommerce site call Customer Paradigm today at 303.473.4400 to talk about how you can add more shoppers to your social media streams! Or fill out the contact form below!

 

Sep 20, 2012

CP's Alan Barber is now Magento Developer Certified!

Alan Barber Magento Developer Certified

Alan Barber Customer ParadigmLet it be known that Mr. Alan Barber has successfully passed the Magento Developer Certification Test!

Alan Barber is Customer Paradigm’s Production Manager and Senior Developer as well as ping-pong champion, and last but not least, Magento Certified Developer!

Congratulations! Congratulations! Congratulations!

If you don’t know what Magento is it is the most used and efficient eCommerce site available. It’s open source and at Customer Paradigm we say it so often you’d think it was a person in the office. Read more about Magento.

 

 

 

 

What does being a Magento Certified Developer Mean?

A person who has passed this certification has a thorough understanding of how Magento works. The test is a timed test with 70 questions. Given that Magento is such a complex system, they do not recommend that you work with developers who are not certified.

What Topics Are Covered In the Certification Test?

  • Request Flow
  • Rendering
  • Database in Magento
  • Entity Attribute Value Model
  • Adminhtml
  • Catalog
  • Checkout
  • Advanced Features
If you are interested in Magento Development for your eCommerce site, call us now at 303.473.4400 to talk to a real person today or fill out the contact form below.

 

Sep 18, 2012

Update on Site Load Speed – 96% Increase in Website Load Time

Customer Paradigm
888.772.0777
303.473.4400

A quick follow up on last week’s Godaddy DNS server incident: according to an article in the New York Times, Godaddy claims the outage occured due to an internal network error (and not a hack or attack). Godaddy hosts five million websites and manages 53 million domain names.

And in a follow-up to the previous week’s Site Load Speed Test article, one company took us up on helping them speed up their site.

96% Website Speed Increase: 60 seconds –> 2.17 seconds.

Before, the site TVPartsOutlet.com took more than 60 seconds to load. (The test times out after 60 seconds, and the test shows that not all of the content of the home page was loaded.)

TV Parts Outlet - 60 second load time

We helped move TV Parts Outlet to a new hosting account on Nexcess – a web hosting provider based in Michigan.

The results speak for themself:

TV Parts Outlet - Fast Load Time

A couple of notes to help you understand how what this report means.

Slow Hosting Company.
The first report was run on Wed, Sep 12, 2012 at a data center in Dallas, Texas. There were 72 requests on the home page (each image, CSS file, javascript is it’s own request). After 60 seconds, the system had only downloaded 480 kb of data. You’ll notice that the mini-screenshot of the home page has a big black box on it where a piece of content did not load. On the older server, the site was slower than 96% of all tested websites. Again, the load test timed out after a full minute.

Faster Hosting Company.
The second report was run one day later on Thursday, Sep 13, 2012 from the same data center. There were 73 total requests — one more than the slower server (we assume that one request didn’t load). Simply moving over to a new, faster and more reliable hosting company allowed the site to load in 2.17 seconds. The total page size was 923.4 kb – almost double the amount of content that was downloaded from the slower server.

Yes, this is an extreme example — it’s not often we see a 96% increase in speed from simply moving a site from one hosting company to the next. (We didn’t do anything else to the overall site.)

Let us know if you`d like us to test out your site, or help install page caching to create quicker page load times.

Talk to you soon!

Thanks,

Jeff FinkelsteinFounder, Customer Paradigm
Jeff Finkelstein
Founder, Customer Paradigm
303.473.4400

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Sep 10, 2012

Godaddy DNS Servers Attacked – Millions of Websites Down

September 10, 2012.  If you are wondering why many of the sites you want to visit seem down today, it may be due to a widespread attack on Godaddy’s DNS servers. 

Godaddy is one of the largest domain name registrars in the world, and hosts millions of websites for businesses and organizations.

I’ll try to explain how DNS works, and how your site might be affected, even if your site isn’t hosted with Godaddy.  This is a fairly critical piece of national infrastructure that today failed due to an attack by hackers.

………………………….
Godaddy’s DNS Outage Affects Millions of Websites.
………………………….

Basically, attackers today successfully hacked Godaddy’s DNS (Domain Name Server) system.  

In a nutshell, if you type in a domain name (i.e. www.CustomerParadigm.com), the DNS system translates the domain name into a series of numbers (in our case, 66.228.48.209) called an IP address.  Your computer uses this IP address to actually make the connection to a website.

For sites you visit a lot (such as Facebook, CNN.com and others), your computer will “cache” or save the IP addresses, so that your computer, iPhone, iPad or other device doesn’t have to go and look up the IP address each and every time.  

Caching can take place on your computer, at your router (such as a wi-fi hub) or even at the level of your ISP (Internet Service Provider), such as Comcast.  

That’s why a website that you visit a lot will load right away (because you have the IP address cached), but a site that you don’t visit often requires a DNS lookup, and is failing.  

Your site might load for you (because you theoretically visit it a lot), but it might not load for your customers.  We have disabled all of our inbound advertising until this is resolved.

………………………….
What can be affected by DNS outages:
………………………….

1. eCommerce sites can’t take orders.
2. email might not get through.
3. People can’t visit your website.
4. Online appointment scheduling systems may not work.
5. Doctors might not be able to view xray, MRI and other medical information.  This actually happened to one of our hospital clients many years ago when a DNS server went down, and doctors were scrubbed in but not able to perform surgery.


………………………….
What You Can Do:
………………………….
Right now, not much.  Millions of people are affected, and we unfortunately need to wait until Godaddy is back up and running.  

One thing you can do is take to the social media to let your customers know this is a major outage and not your company’s fault.  We’ve posted on Facebook, Google+, LinkedIn and Twitter to let people know; we’re also emailing everyone, too (although it might not get through to everyone).


………………………….
More Information How DNS lookups work:
………………………….

1. You type in a website address, such as www.CustomerParadigm.com
2a. If you’ve visted this site before, your computer knows the IP address (it’s saved it in its cache).  In this case you go right to the site.
2b. If you haven’t visited the site before (or it’s been more than a few days), you computer sends a query out to find the right IP address to help you connect to the website.
3. The first part of the query finds the domain name servers (DNS) that are associated with your domain name.  A domain name server (DNS) might be something like ns1.i6cp.net or ns64.domaincontrol.com.
4. After finding the correct name server, your computer asks the proper domain name server (DNS) what the IP address should be for the site you’re trying to visit.  (These name servers are the one affected by Godaddy’s outage.)  
5. The name server responds with an IP address, such as 66.228.48.209.
6. Your computer, iPad, iPhone or other device is then connected automatically.

Technically, this is the exchange:

QUESTION SECTION:
customerparadigm.com. IN A

(This is your computer asking for Customer Paradigm’s A record or IP address.)


AUTHORITY SECTION:
customerparadigm.com. 3600 IN NS ns64.domaincontrol.com.
customerparadigm.com. 3600 IN NS ns63.domaincontrol.com.

(This is where your computer finds the domain name server for the domain.)

ADDITIONAL SECTION:
ns63.domaincontrol.com. 28745 IN A 216.69.185.42
ns64.domaincontrol.com. 28745 IN A 208.109.255.42

(This is where your computer finds the IP address for the domain name servers in question.)


ANSWER SECTION:
customerparadigm.com. 3600 IN A 66.228.48.209

(Finally, the IP address for the website is resolved.)


Query time: 64 msec
(In this case, the entire lookup process took 0.064 seconds – 6/1,000 of a second – to complete.  Some Olympic events have been won in about 1/1,000 second.)



………………………….
Is mail affected by the outage?
………………………….

Yes.  email uses what are called MX (Mail Exchange) records to route mail properly.  During this downtime, email may not get through (or may be significantly delayed).


………………………….
How the domain registration process works.
………………………….

When someone registers a domain name, you have to go to a site like Network Solutions or Godaddy.com.  Godaddy cut the price of a domain name registration from $35 to less than $8; millions of people became customers.  You might know Godaddy from their SuperBowl ads featuring race car drivers.

In December of 2009, there were over 192 million domain names registered.  As of July 2012, the .com top-level-domain has had more regisrations than all of the others (.org, .net, .biz) combined.

During the registration process, a person searches for the domain name that will be the address for their business or organization.  After giving their credit card information, the user usually has a couple of options:

- Park the domain.  You’re not going to do anything with this; just keep the name on file for now, and show a generic page when someone visits the site.  Not a huge deal if the site doesn’t load today.

- Use Default Hosting Name servers.  If you are also going to host your website at a place like Godaddy, you just need to let them know, and they will take care of all of the technical details for how to point your domain name to the proper location.  This is one of the things that is failing.

- Use Total DNS Control Name servers. You might want to host the site with Godaddy, or might want to host at another web hosting company, such as Michigan-based Nexcess.net for an eCommerce Magento site.  In this case, you use Godaddy’s DNS servers, but you are able to specify the individual records that tell a user where to go when they type in something like www.CustomerParadigm.com.  Because of the Godaddy DNS outage, many servers are not returning valid results.

- Use Alternative DNS servers.  You can specify a different set of DNS servers, such as ns1.i6cp.net.  Before the web hosting and domain name registration space matured, we often routed website DNS lookups through some of Customer Paradigm’s DNS servers.  The reason we moved away from this, was because Godaddy’s DNS servers have been (at least for the last few years) very reliable.  More reliable than anything a small company could provide.  However, even if you are using alternative DNS servers, the record of the DNS server is still hosted at Godaddy, meaning it could fail.


What Should You Do?
Unfortunately, there’s not that much that can be done right now.  As of writing this, Godaddy’s website remains down.  Which means that you can’t switch to alternative domain name servers.  Frustrating :(

Thanks,

– Jeff

Sep 7, 2012

Magento Bug with Versions 1.5 and Above – SOAP Shipments API

We’ve recently discovered a bug with magneto version > 1.5.0.0.

Magento’s native SOAP api exposes most of the core entity types (customers, orders, shipments, products, categories, etc).

However, it looks like the Api code wasn’t updated to ensure compatibility with other parts of the core code.

Specifically, we’ve learned that an update to the Mage_Sales_Model_Resource_Collection_Abstract breaks part of the SOAP Shipments API:

Magento Bug Report - API Definition

Magento Bug Report - API Definition

 The problem lies in the definition of the function joinAttribute inside the aforementioned class. You can see from the screen shot that there is an @todo implement join functionality if necessary—however for now, this method does absolutely nothing!

 You will also notice that the magento core team now deems this a “deprecated method.” However, they themselves reference this method in the shipments module. References to this function can be found in:

  • Mage_Sales_Block_Order_Recent
  • Mage_Sales_Model_Order_Shipments_Api

 

Magento Bug Report - Implementation

Magento Bug Report - Implementation

 

Obviously any place where this method is used will NOT return the desired result—-which can cause major problems for installations that have a 3rd party warehouse or inventory system that requires these api methods work correctly.

 

My suggested fix is to replace the joinAttribute calls with ->getSelect()->join calls (you can see info about Zend’s db layer at: http://zendgeek.blogspot.com/2009/07/zend-framework-sql-joins-examples.html)

* Please make sure you either write a module or do a local override in app/code/local if you need to do this!

 

Sep 4, 2012

Magento Retailers Represent With Google Trusted Store Badge

Google Trusted Badge Magento Stores

Get the Google Trusted Store Badge

Magento is now a proudly offering the Google Trusted Store Badge. With Google’s great reputation of advancing the internet, there is a trust associated with their brand. As they continue to increase users experience with every click across the internet, we now see a visible rating for quality.

There are not many forms in which Google rates websites. At least not visible to the common public. We do see the ratings on Google local pages, but that is a reflection of user ratings.

Features of the Google Trusted Store Badge?

 The Trusted Store Badge works as a “report card” of how well your eCommerce store performs. In order to earn the badge your site must exhibit fast, reliable and responsive customer service. Once your website has been approved, you will receive a grade. The badge will hover in a fixed position at the bottom right of your screen so it is visible during the entire shopping experience on your eStore. Upon hovering over the badge the grade will show. Below is a screenshot of the hover view from http://www.dickblick.com an art supply eCommerce store.

Google eCommerce Trusted Badge

http://www.dickblick.com

Benefits & Drawbacks of Google Trusted Store Badge

Potential Benefits

Google has many case studies which support the benefits of having the badge >> View Here

  • Increase in average order size
  • Increase in conversion rate
  • Ability to show an essential rating system on your page
  • Badge show up in Adword ads

Potential Drawbacks

  • Forums have revealed an abundant concern for privacy, the code requires that the shipping address of every customer is revealed to Google.

Get the Google Trusted Store Badge

There are many resources for installing the badge onto your eCommerce store. Many people are coming across bugs trying to replicate the codes. My best advice is follow the steps that Google has put in place.

If you use Magento >> Get the Badge Here

Through Google >> Get the Badge Here

 

eCommerce Platforms for Google Trusted Store Badge

Although you are able to receive the badge through any eCommerce store, this is where people are coming across bugs trying to replicate the code for their own eCommerce platforms. Currently Google has easily integrated this feature with the three following eCommerce sites:

If your current eCommerce store does not have the full functionality you are looking for, consider migrating your eCommerce site to Magento. Magento is a eCommerce platform that was designed with eCommerce in mind and is tailored to maximize sales and usability.

 

Aug 14, 2012

Magento – How to Move A Website to a New Server

How to move your website to a new server

Want to see a magic trick? Server to Server in 10 minutes!

I’d love to write a really long blog about how this is going to happen, but that would defeat the purpose of getting your website moved from an old server to a new server in 10 minutes. Here are the steps, if you have any questions please feel free to call us at 303.473.4400 or fill out a contact form with your question.

Step 1: Login to the old server (server you are moving from) with SSH

 

Step 2: Move the file tree via a tar SSH pipe

  • tar zcf – app lib includes .htaccess index downloader cron.php cron.sh js LICENSE.html media shell skin var

    or

  • | ssh username@domain.com ‘(cd your_directory && tar xzf -)’

    - To those familiar with the “tar” command this will look very familiar

    - To those less familiar with the tar command, essentially we are gzipping files from the old server to the new server over an SSH connection. The “-” in the tar commands correspond to STDIN and STDOUT.

     

 Step 3: Move the Database

    • mysqldump -u username1 -pPassword1 database1 | ssh username@domain.com ‘mysql -u username2 -pPassword2 database2′

- Once again, we are just piping a mysqldump from server to server (via STDOUT and STDIN) the “|” operator connecting the 2

 

Step 4: Update database creds in app/etc/local.xml

 

Step 5: Change base URL’s:

      My SQL:
      • UPDATE core_config_data SET value = “your_new_unsecure_url” WHERE config_id = 3;
      • UPDATE core_config_data SET value = “your_new_secure_url” WHERE config_id = 4;
Server Transfer of Magento Completed

 

Aug 6, 2012

Faster Page Loading with Magento

Increase to Faster Page Loading with Magento Varnish

Of course you want faster page loading…
Why? Because,

  • Faster Page Loading >> Increase in Conversions
  • Faster Page Loading >> Decreased rate of Abandonment from your website
  • Faster Page Loading >> Decreases time for viewers to get distracted while on your website
  • Faster Page Loading >> Increases your Google SEO value

 

Good Solution: Faster Page Loading with Full Page Caching for Magento

With Magento Enterprise, one of the perks of paying $14,400 a year is you receive full page caching which will result in site load times of around 3-5 seconds. A full page caching system occurs when you have visited a website before, and the server basically takes a screenshot of the webpage and reproduces it upon request. This decreases the load time and produces the page back to the user within 3-5 seconds. The only issues with full page caching is that it requires MySQL and PHP to load for every page each time it is requested.

 

Best Solution: Faster Page Loading with Varnish for Magento

Full Page Caching is a great way to speed up your site, but what if you are trying to achieve the optimal site load speed? According to Google research every 0.1 second improvement in site load speed there is a 1% increase in sales. If you are wanting to achieve a 1 second decrease in page load, down to page loads at 2 seconds or even 1 second, Varnish for Magento is your best solution.  

Varnish graph for Magento

At Customer Paradigm we highly recommend for the best optimization that you install Varnish in addition to Full Page Caching to increase your site page load time. They compliment each other to achieve the fastest page load times. To explain the diagram above, the solid lines represent the path of requests your computer goes through when your page is already cached. The additional dotted line represents an extra request that occurs if you do not have caching. As for varnish, the html of static entities such as images or texts are loaded from cache, then Ajax sends a request for the dynamic parts such as “Recent Articles” for that category page or dynamic sidebar filters. Finally, JSON responds with how the dynamic information is to be structured as a JSON array.

Basically, when you install Varnish and a server has produced the request to anyone, the server is able to step in before php kicks in and reproduce the requested page. This decreases a large step in the database, substantially decreasing the page load time.

When a website does not have Varnish or Full Page Caching the server goes through a long process. Each time the server received a request for a page such as /about.html there is a communication with the database to reproduce the html for that page, instead of reserving the page with Varnish directly from a past request.

Comparing Page Loads for Site Speed

Magento Varnish: Benefits & Drawbacks

Increase page load speed with Magento Varnish

Drawbacks: Let’s start with the bad news first

The only drawbacks are when you make updates to your site you have to clear the cache when adding new content or changing things on a page, such as making changes to a post on your WordPress blog. For example, when you create a post and then you realize you have misspelled something, and you go in and edit your WordPress, the change will not show until you have cleared the cache for your site. This occurs with varnish because you have been served the blog page already, and the server will re-serve the same page upon request.

Benefits: The Bottom Line

In this case, the benefits far outweigh the drawbacks. Installing varnish on an eCommerce site is a no-brainer decision.

  • Increase in Conversion - A faster page load time increases the potential for conversions, which directly contributes to your bottom line of profits. If for every .1 second decrease in load time, there is a 2% increase in conversions, where is the loss?
Page Load and Conversions
  • Varnish is a one time set-up - Many applications or extensions require updates with the development of the eCommerce software, not with Varnish. It is a one time installation, that will last for the life of your website.
  • Google Increase in SEO Value - Google has determined that site load time affects your ranking, Google’s end goal is to provide the best user experience to the end user. If your site is the best for shoes, but it takes 8 seconds to load your page this will directly affect your ranking for keywords associated with shoes. Decrease page load time >> Increase SEO value.
  • Better User Experience – We’ve all done it, you click on a website and watch the loading icon spin and spin, eventually we all click back to the Google search and find a page that loads before we have time to move our cursor. Decrease page load time >> Decrease bounce rate from your page.

If you are interested in installing Full Page Caching or Varnish on your website for optimal speed, conversion rates, SEO value and site traffic contact Customer Paradigm now at 303.473.4400 to talk to a real person today or fill out the contact form below.

 

Aug 3, 2012

Gary Fong e-Store Up and Running

 

Poor Magento Customer Service

Gary Fong like many Magento customers received the dreaded screen when your Magento site is down. You type in your url, and ERROR is across the screen. Scrambling to find customer service from Magento to get your site back up and running is always a daunting task. You think after paying for an Enterprise Magento site which comes at no small cost of $14,000 a year, there would be efficient customer service, wrong. Understandably with frustration, Gary Fong began to search for any service to get his site up and running after all it’s like locking your business door and staring through the glass at customers trying to view your products.

The frustration is strewn out across his twitter feed: @garyfong_REAL

 

Call Customer Paradigm for Magento Customer Service

 

Solution: Fill out a Contact Form with Customer Paradigm

for Immediate Magento Support

Not only at Customer Paradigm do we have easy contact forms when you are in need, we also have a phone number directly on the page. I am surprised with the urgency that he needed to get his site back up and running, he didn’t pick up the phone and call us right away at 303.473.4400. We are very responsive to our contact forms, and within minutes of receiving his urgent need his site was back up, his doors for business open and ready for customers.

Customer Paradigm fixes Gary Fong's Magento Site

 

Jul 31, 2012

The Right Questions to Ask When Considering an eCommerce Solution

Questions before choosing an eCommerce Solution

In the world of eCommerce solutions there are many questions to consider for each platform, but the bigger question is, “What are the RIGHT questions I should be asking?” Asking the right questions is a more profitable route rather than narrowing your mind to only one platform and morphing your needs to fit their limitations.

It used to be an expensive task to develop an eCommerce site, there were so many questions, complications and limitations. But times have changed, and now we are walking down the grocery aisle of choices, where brand after brand is shouting out to catch your eyes. When all you want to know is, “which eCommerce solution fits my needs?”

There is no one correct eCommerce platform, each one exists to fill different needs. Some businesses are fine with a low volume, low security eCommerce platform, while others are needing a solution which can handle thousands of products with an infinite number of possible attributes. For example, if you are a business which primarily deals with blogging information, and you sell a few branded T-shirts or tickets then a simple eCommerce WordPress plugin may do the trick. Read more about WordPress eCommerce Plugins vs. Magento.

 

The RIGHT questions to be asking:

Asking the Right questions for eCommerce Solutions

1. Can your products/services be translated into sales over the internet?

If you are a B2C business and are selling electronics, your business is set up to easily translate your products into an eCommerce platform. Each product listing can display the attributes of memory space, processor speeds, graphics rendering, weight, monitor size and resolution. Of course, I am a fan of sleek filters to help the consumer find exactly what they want in the time they have. A filter will narrow down the various attributes (brands, prices, product attributes.. etc.) and display the products that exist within the selected filter.

If your organization is a B2B model and you are selling services such as corporate legal services or consultations this service is not easily translated for an eCommerce solution. The reason that legal services is not a tangible good to sell across the internet is because each product would vary greatly based on the case type. If you were to make legal services compatible for a product listing on an eCommerce site you would have to set a fixed price for each “type” of case. For example a corporate contract law case would be $15,000. This is obviously not a smart choice for legal services.

Do not take this to be the case for every B2B or B2C model. Whether or not your business is suitable for an eCommerce solution is based on the fact that your product/service can be translated into sales over the internet. Some B2C models are filled with products that do not translate easily into sales. Also, some B2B models are products that can easily be translated into sales over the internet such as wholesale outlets who provide products to other businesses.

Pause. If your business products do translate easily into sales over the internet than continue to read. If your business model does NOT translate into sales, then I would encourage you to invest in SEO for your website to increase site traffic, and organic Google rankings for your industry. Read more here for a deeper understanding on >> what SEO is.

 

2. How much product control do you want?

Product Control for your eCommerce Solution

Your initial reaction is, I want as much control as possible, but with the simplicity to get it all done. If I’ve learned one thing, I may be great at things, but I’m not great at everything, and when it comes to making money let’s get it right. My methodology is what features will make my eCommerce solution the best for the end user (my customers)? If there are features and options I wish to offer such as a mothers day discount, or a cyber Monday sale and make a site-wide discount but I just can’t get it done, hiring a knowledgeable and experienced eCommerce programmer can make all the difference.

If you wish to control the price structure for each of your products, then an eCommerce solution is ideal for you. Price structure control would be offering a 10% discount if you spend over $50 which you can create rules for or purchasing 4 products and receiving a 5th for free. It all sounds easy, because these are common sales tactics, but making them happen on your eCommerce platform is more difficult than a simple check box. One eCommerce platform that I highly recommend is the Magento platform. I particularly like this platform, yes because it is one of the most favorable eCommerce solutions, but favorites are favorites for a reason. They are extremely secure which matters the most when processing orders, there’s nothing worse than a customer coming to you saying their credit card information got leaked after a purchase on your website. They also offer endless functionality and customization for product attributes and categories.

 

3. Do it Myself or Hire an eCommerce Development Service?

Customer Paradigm eCommerce Solutions

This can be a tricky question. If you have the knowledge and are tech savvy then developing your own eCommerce site with the occasional consultation from a professional eCommerce company could be the perfect route for you.

If you want to hire an eCommerce Development Service to make sure that your site is set up properly with a clean navigation, optimized product tags, seamless checkout process and customer support then hiring a service may be the perfect route for you. It all comes down to the functionality of your site, and your ability to make that functionality happen.

At Customer Paradigm we make sure that your platform is upgraded correctly, and perform testing to maintain the full functionality of your site. We provide you with a direct line to always contact your project manager. Most importantly, we take the time to understand your business and what you wish to offer to your customers.

If you are in need of an eCommerce Solution please call us now at 303.473.4400 to talk to a real person or fill out the contact form at the bottom of the screen.

 

Jul 25, 2012

Magento USPS Shipping options: Working with First Class Shipping Rates

Magento Shipping First Class Mail

If you are not seeing the USPS shipping option for “First-Class Mail International Package” on your Magento Shipping options, this would be due to the new First-Class rates taking effect.

First Class Mail Package has been changed to First Class Mail Parcel in the Shipping Options.

 A parcel is considered anything that weighs under 13 oz. when a product is loaded into a shopping cart and the weight associated with that item is 13 oz. you would intuitively like your Magento check-out to select the proper shipping size that will be able to handle the weight. For example, if you were to order a computer and it weighed 8 lbs. you would ideally like the user to select for shipping methods: USPS First Class, Standard Shipping, Next Day or whatever your shipping methods are. Then your shopping cart would automatically select the parcel size subcategory.

To make this happen on the back end of your Magento site go to: System –> Configuration –> Shipping Method (under the Sales category) and you will see the “Allowed Methods” under the UPS tab.

How to Make this Happen:

The best way to make this happen is if you want to ship “First-Class” to select all the First-Class methods that pertain to the products you have. For our site we selected all the first-class methods because we have items that can be shipped efficiently in each of these categories. You would continue this methodology for all categories of shipping.

 

First Class Mail Shipping

 

If your site is in need of Magento Development, call us now at 303.473.4400 or fill out the contact form below.

 

Jul 20, 2012

Magento Site Launched: Evologie

 

Evologie Logo

Dr. Robert Nagel a respected endontist created Evologie when finding a  solution for his daughters monthly blemishes and breakouts. He consulted with many medical physicians and tested his product with many scientists studying acne. As he consulted with many medical physicians it became more apparent that there is a great need for an acne solution that does not temporarily fix blemishes, but rather heals and protects the skin.

 

Evologie came to Customer Paradigm with a complete set of PSDs outlining every detail of their new Magento site. . We knew that we could make the designs come to life, after viewing their products and hearing their business goals it was an easy decision to go with a Magento eCommerce platform.

Here’s How we Made it Happen on Magento

 

  • Themed the Magento Community site in accordance with their Photoshop document designs and Excel guides and created a custom WordPress Blog to match!

Magento eCommerce Evologie Homepage

 

  • Social Media PluginsEvologie Share Buttons
  • For the standard Facebook Like button there appears a count indicating the amount of people
    that have liked the page, we modified this Facebook extension so that the “Like” button becomes a clean button with no added on numbers when signed in.
  • We also added the standard social media share buttons on each product page. This is a great way for users to increase their engagement with the site, and to spread the news about this product if they have a friend to share this great product with.
  • And finally there is the Evologie Social Media icons located at the footer to stay involved with the Evologie site if you want to follow their Tweets, or join their Facebook Group page.
Evologie Social Media
  • Custom Free Sample System for Magento
    When ordering an item, you are prompted to go through all the payment fields to complete your order. But, what if you want to offer FREE Samples because you know your product is so good? In order to solve this situation and preserve the default full check out for purchases, Customer Paradigm developed a completely customized separate checkout page to offer Free Samples with a promotional code.

Evologie Free Samples

 Plus this free sample system helps to capture additional information about the perspective customer such as age and what the product will be used for.  It also features a check-box for the Newsletter sign up to help increase email subscriptions.

 

  • Tabbed CMS System
    If you have ever visited a website where you click on a tab and the whole page reloads? Then after it reloads you have to scroll back down the page to where you were looking. We have inserted a tabbed CMS system with static blocks in Magento that prevent the reloading of pages when shifting from tab to tab.
Evologie Tabbed CMS
  • Custom Video Player Module
    When viewing a video we have inserted a video player similar to the lightbox feature for photos. When you click on an image to view a video, the custom video module pops up and gives the user a more concentrated view and aren’t distracted by the content on the page.

Evologie Custom Video Module

  • Customized Product Page with Recurring Order Options
    When it comes to items like acne treatments, prescriptions or even make-up having your necessary supplies delivered to you without having to reorder allows you to avoid ever running out. Customer Paradigm developed a product page with the recurring order options in time increments of every 30 days, every 60 days, or a one time purchase.

Recurring orders for Products

To view the Evologie site please go to: www.evologie.com

The Evologie website has shown us how any eCommerce business can be taken to the next level and customized to tailor to your business goals and customers needs with custom Magento Extensions. If you are interested in Magento eCommerce for your business call us now at 303.473.4400 to talk to a real person, or fill out the short contact form below.

 

Jul 19, 2012

Magento vs WordPress for eCommerce

Magento eCommerce vs. WordPress eCommerce Plugin

With so many eCommerce platforms available, it is hard to figure out which one is right for you. Many platforms offer different functionality which is necessary for some eCommerce stores, while simple functionality may be your piece of pie. Our experience has been stores that have invested in a simple functioning eCommerce platform but as time goes on, their business grows and they want to offer more customization, they eventually migrate their eCommerce site to Magento.

From our experience, choosing an eCommerce platform that your business is able to grow into is the best route (unless you don’t want business to grow). This route is better than investing in one eCommerce method may do the trick for your business at its infancy stage, and then needing to migrate your whole site to a new platform that can handle all your desired functionality and customization.

At Customer Paradigm our general rule of thumb for deciding if your site should be run on Magento or a WordPress Plugin is the question of what is the goal of your site?

If your goal is to sell products we highly recommend Magento. If your goal is to post content and blog then WordPress CMS is recommended. Generally, when the amount of products you have to sell are more than 25 it is a smart move to switch to Magento.

First we will go through the Magento and WordPress similarities, then we will look at the functionality that Magento has that WordPress does not, then the functionality that WordPress has that Magento does not.

Magento and WordPress Similarities

  • They are both Open Source platforms – they are both free (Magento Community version)
  • Ability to integrate blogging into their functionality
  • Ability to easily add products
  • Ability to use themes to design and personalize the look of your website

Magento vs. WordPress eCommerce Plugins

One advantage of Magento vs. WordPress eCommerce plugins is the fact that Magento was developed specifically for eCommerce. The Magento Logooverall functionality is going to be more tailored towards a business structure for sales.

  • Customization of shipping options
  • Various payment integration
  • Custom Shipping methods
  • Dynamic pricing functionality
  • Order fulfillment
  • Gift Cards
  • A more secure eCommerce platform than WordPress third party plugins
  • Ability to add more functionality than a WordPress Plugin
  • Great forums available on the web if you run into problems because Magento is the most widely used eCommerce platform
If Magento sounds like the right eCommerce solution for you, please call Customer Paradigm to talk to a real person at 303.473.4400 or fill out the contact form below.

WordPress eCommerce Plugins vs. Magento

WordPress is ideal for your eCommerce needs if you are only selling a few products. If you mainly have a site that is driven by content and news updates and you sell a few t-shirts or tickets to an event then the WordPress eCommerce Plugin will work for you. Unfortunately I can not cover WordPress eCommerce plugins in one bullet point list, because the functionality is dependent on the 3rd party plugin you choose. Below is a list of the general well known facts about WordPress eCommerce. Wordpress Logo

  • Tons of eCommerce 3rd party plugins to choose from to fit your needs
  • Easily integrate your eCommerce into your existing WordPress theme
  • Not as secure as Magento, WordPress has been frequently hacked.
  • Unfortunately, 3rd party plug-ins are less reliable which isn’t good when it comes to selling products or tickets.

If WordPress eCommerce sounds like the right route for your business here are a few plugins that we recommend WP-Commerce and Jigoshop. If you are interested in WordPress Design and Development call us now at 303.473.4400 and talk to a real person.

 

 

Jul 6, 2012

Critical Magento Security Update – Zend Vulnerability

There is an important security update for any company using Magento; this was posted yesterday (July 5, 2012) to Magento`s blog.

Magento uses the Zend Platform; the vulnerability is in the Zend software.

The Issue: The vulnerability potentially allows an attacker to read any file on the web server where the Zend XMLRPC functionality is enabled. This might include password files, configuration files, and possibly even databases if they are stored on the same machine as the Magento web server.

Summary: We`re not trying to scare you, but it`s really not very good if you don`t apply this patch. An atacker could access all of your customer`s information, your admin functionality, and gain complete access to your site. They could delete all of your products, customers, change pricing. It wouldn`t be pretty.

What Should You Do:
a. Patch it
b. Put in a workaround until it`s patched.

If you`d like us to take care of this for you, we can fix this for you in one hour of billable time (we just need FTP access).  Call 303.473.4400 or visit here to have someone contact you now >>



Technical Details About the Magento Local File Inclusion (LFI) security vulnerability:

The attack is called local file inclusion (LFI) and essentially it allows a hacker to read any file on the server. At a high level, here’s what happens:

 

  1. Someone connects to your Magento installation’s Web API. Great, you think to yourself “I’m checking login/passwords, so I won’t give them anything they don’t have access to. And even if they do have access, I’ll only allow them certain actions (getting orders, creating products, etc)
  2. Your api reads the request using zend framework
  3. Zend framework uses a PHP xml library
  4. You send a response back saying “Sorry, you don’t have access to my api” or “Ok, you just updated your product description”
  5. But little do you know, you also sent back the entire password file! Now your hacker owns the server!!

 

Here’s an example XML request the hacker might send:

<?xml version=”1.0″?>

<!DOCTYPE api_username [<!ENTITY my_api_username SYSTEM "php://filter/read=convert.base64-encode/resource=/etc/passwd">]>

… XML REQUEST …

<api_username>&my_api_username</api_username>

….The rest of the request

 

So, assuming they don’t have access (or they do, this really is just an example) your application might send something back like:

<?xml version=”1.0″?>

<message>Sorry, {insert_api_username_here} you don’t have access</message>

 

But where you just inserted the api username, you actually inserted the contents of the entire password file!

 

Luckily PHP provides us with an easy function to prevent this: http://php.net/manual/en/function.libxml-disable-entity-loader.php

The magento patch works by using this function in the appropriate places.

 

Need help applying this Magento Security Fix?  Call 303.473.4400 or visit here to have someone contact you now >>

May 23, 2012

FedEx Shipping Fix for Magento Versions 1.5 and lower

Customer Paradigm
888.772.0777
303.499.9318


If you`re running the Magento eCommerce system (version 1.5 and lower) and rely on FedEx for shipping quotes, you may need to update your system so that it works after May 31, 2012.

FedEx Shipping Fix for Magento Versions 1.5 and lower

What`s going on: FedEx is switching over to a newer Web Service API, and is discontinuing their older system at the end of May, 2012.

If you`re running Magento Community 1.6 or 1.7.0, you`re fine — this uses the latest system.

If you`re running Magento version 1.5, 1.4 or lower, you need to do a quick extension update, and you`ll be able to continue to use FedEx for shipping quotes.

If you`re not running Magento (but do rely on real-time shipping quotes from FedEx), please check and make sure that your system is going to work after May, 2012.

How can I tell what version of Magento I`m running?
Log in to your Magento admin area. At the bottom of the page (you may need to scroll down), it will read in the center: Magento ver. 1.6.0.0 (or something similar).

How much does it cost to update? The software extension is free; if you would like us to assist you, we can install, test and configure this for you on an hourly basis.

Please call or email if we can help.

Thanks,

Jeff FinkelsteinFounder, Customer Paradigm
Jeff Finkelstein
Founder, Customer Paradigm

303.499.9318

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May 22, 2012

StaySafeMedia's Migration to Magento

Magento Migration for Stay Safe Media

StaySafeMedia.com is an eCommerce site that sells personal defense courses in a variety of formats such as videos and books. The original eCommerce site had been run by a custom PHP platform which had become outdated. The client needed a secure platform for their eCommerce store and was also interested in new functionality which they had seen on other sites.  They needed to add videos, update the design and be able to connect with their customers on social media.

The original platform was both less secure then Magento and  provided little of the functionality which most eCommerce sites now depend on. After taking a look at the existing functionality we had a good idea about what types of platforms would work best for them. We suggested Magento Community as the new platform for Stay Safe Media for a couple reasons -

First, Magento would give them the ability to better manage their customer base, run reports, make promotional rules and codes, and would vastly simplify the usability of the site.

Second, Magento is a very secure platform for eCommerce and came with all the necessary security features that Stay Safe Media was interested in such as CAPTCHA validation.

Finally, Magento gave the client all their existing frontend functionality from their previous site while giving them new features for their customers. This included a Customer Account dashboard, “Shop By” refinements for categories, clear out of stock notices, up-sell options for product pages and improved shopping cart functionality.

After going with Magento for the eCommerce platform we took a look at what we could do to improve on the current site. Rather then using the existing design on Stay Safe Media we decided to upgrade them to a new design. We also made improvements to their logo and updated the homepage to include sliders, testimonials and product carousel. Finally we included the content from the original site at the bottom of the homepage to improve SEO.

To migrate them from their previous platform we needed to import both Products and Customers into Magento. We did this by dumping their previous MySQL database and running a script to transfer everything into Magento. The customer import was done just before taking the site live to ensure that all customers were imported.

We also helped them a couple of additional items that are always critical to moving a site. This included re-keying their SSL Certificate for the new server, helping them point over the domain and setting up existing email accounts on their new server.

The new site looks and works great, you can check it out yourself here at staysafemedia.com.

 

May 21, 2012

New FedEx Shopping Extension for Magento

Magento FedEx Extension FixOn May 31st, 2012 FedEx will be switching to a Web Service to supply shipping rates in Magento. This means users of Magento CE1.5x or less or EE1.10.x or less will no longer be able to retrieve FedEx shipping rates in Magento.

Fortunately, users can install the Magento FedEx fix extension to allow users of older versions of Magento to continue to retrieve FedEx shipping rates without upgrading to Magento 1.7.

Here are a few items that our developers have learned from our installations of the new FedEx shipping fix:

  1. You have to have the WebShopApps “Logger” extension installed for the FedEx extension to work (but after you’ve set up the FedEx extension you need to disable it per this article – http://wiki.webshopapps.com/webshopapps-logger)
  2. If you are using the “Home Delivery” option you need to set “Residential Delivery” to Yes or it will show as an error. You will need the following credentials to set up the account:
    ID: (Account number)
    – Production Password: (Provided in email once you sign up)
    – Production Meter Number: (provided in sign up success screen)
    – Key: (provided in sign up success screen)

Customer Paradigm is a full-service ecommerce solution featuring Magento website development. From 1 hour to 1000, we can help! For more information about setting up the FedEx shipping fix extension for your Magento store or upgrading to Magento 1.7, please call Customer Paradigm toll free at 888.772.0777 or contact us to speak to a real person now.

May 18, 2012

Google bots learning to read webpages like humans

Here’s another really interesting article about Google’s bots… they are now starting to execute javascript, so that they can use sites more like humans… Google bots learning to read webpages like humans, one step closer to knowing everything. -visit here to read.
May 15, 2012

Categorize this Magento!

What do we do when a search is made? Why can’t I display custom text for that search? Can I modify the pages that show up when a search is made?

These are all questions on our minds, especially if you are working on the SEO of your site. If you aren’t questioning this, get on the train because optimizing your individual product pages will make a difference for your conversion rates. Currently, Magento allows us to work on the defined category pages and insert HTML to add content or images. But, when using the search bar to peruse through all your available products, the end page that the customer lands on is not able to be modified. Until Now!

Customer Paradigms Magento Programmers have developed a Magento Extension that is simple to use, quick implementation and ads SEO value to your product pages through a dynamic search box. Below is a screen shot of this simple extension:

Magento Custom Extension

You are able to enter a custom search term, insert HTML into the Search Text for content development, and enable the status. That’s that, you’re ready to format!

For more information about Magento Programming or to get help now, call 303.473.4400 or contact us to speak to a real person now.

May 14, 2012

Rel="Canonical" vs. Pagination : Weeding Through Duplicate Content with a Paginated Sequence Tank

If you are working on any Magento E-commerce site, your website most likely falls under the umbrella of multiple products that can be categorized by more than one attribute. This makes it very likely that you will have many pages displaying the same products. So what can we do to avoid duplicate content of product listings? Just because your site has plenty of products to offer and a variety of ways to define precisely what you are looking for doesn’t mean you should suffer any duplicate content penalties.

Rel=”canonical” Tactic

One common solution is adding a rel=”canonical” link to the <link> section of your first product page to indicate this is the page you wish to be indexed by Google. Next, on all your pages that display similar products you add a <rel=”canonical” href=”http://www.example.com/product=X634K23> to the <head> section of your HTML pages. This signals to Google to ignore that page and says this [href] is the main page that you want stressed in search results. By completing this, the SEO content of your first product page that is indexed is able to be optimized for its full value. For Example:

<head>
<link rel=”canonical” href=”http://www.example.com/article?story=payattentionhere” />

<title> How to use rel=canonical</title>

</head>

Below is a visual representation of the rel=”canonical”:

 

 

 

Paginated Sequences: Rel=”next/prev” Tactic

Another solution that is the pagination sequence which uses rel=”next” and rel=”prev” this is a process that is most effectively used for pages in a series, one after the next. For example, if you were reading an article and it was split into four pages. From the second page, the rel=”next” would be linked to the third page in the article, the rel=”prev” would be linked to the first page. A user would most likely not click from the second page in the article and continue reading on the fourth page. For example:

<head>
<link rel=”prev” href=”http://www.example.com/article?story=page1″ />
<link rel=”next” href=”http://www.example.com/article?story=page3″ />
<title>How to use rel=next and rel=prev, page 2</title>
</head>

This code is easily implemented and organized the sequence of your pages, this differs from rel=”canonical” in that all the pages come from one page and point to the next, instead of each page pointing to one page.

Below is a visual representation of a Pagination sequence:

 

 

 

Which tactic should I use?

From a Search Engine Optimization point of view, the winner is definitely the Pagination Sequencing tactic. By implementing pagination sequencing you are able to yield the SEO strength of all linking pages rather than just the single canonical page with the rel=canonical tactic. This gives you the strength of all your title tags, image alt-tags, and content of all pages associated.

 

If you are interested in implementing the Pagination Sequencing Search Engine Optimization strategy on your Magento or e-commerce site, Customer Paradigm is here to help! Please contact us or call and talk to a real person at 303.473.4400.

http://www.customerparadigm.com/category/blog/magento-ecommerce/

Apr 26, 2012

Running Varnish Caching on Magento – but pages not updating

If you care about optimizing an eCommerce site, you know that page load times are critical.  For every second you shave off the time of a page load, conversions increase dramatically.

For every 1 second delay your page takes to load, you’ll see approximately 7% less conversions, and 11% fewer subsequent page views.

Our clients don’t usually call us to see if we can help speed up their page views.  Rather, we look at their sites, using advanced tools (some free, like Google Analytics), and see how long pages take to load, and what the conversion rates are.

If we speed up a page, it means (a) more business for the eCommerce Magento site, (b) a better experience for the end user (we save them time), and (c) the page tends to be ranked higher via Google and other search engines.

If you set up your Magento eCommerce site correctly with caching turned on well, it will scream.  Fast page load times – sub-one-second.  We’ve taken sites from 8-10 second page load times, and had them load in 1 or 1.5 seconds.

How?  We use many techniques, but one is Varnish.

What is Varnish?

Varnish is a HTTP Accelerator (reverse proxy for technical folk). 

A HTTP Accelerator sits between your web server and other people’s web browsers, and creates copies of content normally served from the web server. This content can include anything from images, JavaScript files, swf files, HTML files, to dynamically generated content.

How does Varnish benefit someone running Magento?

Magento varies in the amount of resources it consumes, suffice it to say Magento is more resource hungry than most PHP apps.

For this reason Magento has many types of caching built into it (you can see these in your admin panel).

These caches can help quite a bit, but there is still more you can do.

The overhead of loading the actual Magento core to start utilizing these caches is one more component that we can eliminate with Varnish.

For the following cases:
•    First time users to your site
•    Users that are not logged in
•    Users that do have items in their carts

There may be no reason to have Magento load more than once.

Why is that? In the cases listed above Magento may not render any differently for different users.

Because of this we only need to let Magento once per page, from there Varnish will keep a static copy of the content so that PHP, Mysql, and Magento do not need to run in the future.

This saves system resources, and just as important it significantly lowers your First Byte Time.

Your users will be waiting less for the page to load, and Google will love you!

So you may be asking what about when I do not meet the criteria listed above.

In those cases you will need to let Magento run as it normally would, this is because we want each user to have a unique experience based on their interactions with the site (i.e. if a user adds a product to the cart, it needs to be shown to them in the header as it normally would).

In these cases however,  users still benefit from Varnish since the system is not working as hard as it normally would, and can serve those users faster.

The problem with Varnish: When You Add New Products, Edit Products, Edit Categories or CMS Pages:

Why is the Customer Paradigm Magento Varnish Extension needed to run Varnish on my Magento site?

The Customer Paradigm Magento Varnish Extension takes a lot of the headache out of running Varnish, it automates many of the tasks needed to keep the Varnish Cache in sync with the actual Magento install.

For instance, if you did not have the Customer Paradigm Magento Varnish Extension , and updated a product from the Magento Admin Panel, your updates would not be reflected on the frontend until your restarted Varnish, thus reducing the effectiveness of Varnish.

With the Customer Paradigm Magento Varnish Extension , all changes to Categories, Product, and CMS pages are kept in sync.

It does this without ever needing to clear the entire Varnish cache, thus keeping most of your Magento site fast.

Customer Paradigm’s Magento Varnish Extension also provides methods to flush the entire cache, or to disable the cache for certain parts of your site. This is very useful for people that may not manage their server infrastructure directly.

What the Customer Paradigm Magento Varnish Extension Does:

•    Lowers the amount of time needed to setup a Varnish Cache.
•    Syncs Varnish with Magento’s Catalog Search, Catagories, Products, and CMS pages.
•    Adds debugging features to the Magento Admin panel.

Requirements:
•    Magento 1.5 +
•    Varnish 3.0.0

 

Results:

Non-Varnish results (3 users):

SIEGE 2.70

** Preparing 3 concurrent users for battle.

The server is now under siege…

 

Lifting the server siege…-done.

Transactions:                    23 hits

Availability:                100.00 %

Elapsed time:                 14.57 secs

Data transferred:              0.13 MB

Response time:                 1.38 secs

Transaction rate:              1.58 trans/sec

Throughput:                    0.01 MB/sec

Concurrency:                   2.19

Successful transactions:          23

Failed transactions:              0

Longest transaction:           1.87

Shortest transaction:          0.89

 

 

 

Varnish results (1st run ie. Not in cache)

SIEGE 2.70
** Preparing 3 concurrent users for battle.
The server is now under siege...


Lifting the server siege...-done.


Transactions:                    33 hits


Availability:                100.00 %


Elapsed time:                 14.76 secs


Data transferred:              0.19 MB


Response time:                 0.71 secs


Transaction rate:              2.24 trans/sec


Throughput:                    0.01 MB/sec


Concurrency:                   1.59


Successful transactions:          33


Failed transactions:              0


Longest transaction:           1.52


Shortest transaction:          0.01




Varnish results (2nd run cache is loaded):




SIEGE 2.70


** Preparing 3 concurrent users for battle.


The server is now under siege...




Lifting the server siege...-done.


Transactions:                    48 hits


Availability:                100.00 %


Elapsed time:                 14.04 secs


Data transferred:              0.27 MB


Response time:                 0.36 secs


Transaction rate:              3.42 trans/sec


Throughput:                    0.02 MB/sec


Concurrency:                   1.25


Successful transactions:          48


Failed transactions:              0


Longest transaction:           1.96


Shortest transaction:          0.00




Want the Extension?


This extension is currently being submitted to Magento Connect, but if you’d like to get a copy before it’s available there, please call us at 303.473.4400 or click here to have someone contact you now >>

                                                                

                                                            

                            

                                
                            

                        

                        

                    
                                                			                                                
                    

                                                

                            

                                
Jan 20, 2012

                                

                            

                        

                        

                                                        
Hamster Dance!

                                                        

                                                                                                                                

eLearning Series


by  The original Hamster Dance from 1997, courtesy of the Customer Paradigm Magento development team.                                                                                                             We’re also integrating hamsters into our Magento back-end development, as seen in the screenshot below:  Coming soon! Hamster Dance Extension for Magento Happy Friday.

                                                                

                                                            

                            

                                
                            

                        

                        

                    
                                                            
                                    

                
            

        




                
                

        
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