When entering the weight of a product in Volusion, you need to specify the weight using whole numbers for pounds and the decimal equivalent for any ounces.
For example: if a product weighs one pound and one ounce, you can not enter it as 1lb. 1oz., you need to convert the ounces to decimal values where ONE OUNCE = .0625 (lbs), so in the ProductWeight field you [READ MORE...]
There are just two words that sum up the internal search function of Volusion eCommerce shopping cart software -- but being a professional, I won't use those two words, and will instead just say, "not good".
When a user searches your Volusion store, the search only returns results where the search term appears in the Product Code, Product Name or if the words were (manually) entered in the Additional Product Keywords field of a product record. By default, none of the text in product descriptions, product options, category pages, help files, policy pages, the "knowledge base", (or image alt tags, meta data, etc, etc), or any other text in your store is searched.
To enable Volusion's "extensive search", (which does at least search the description fields of your product pages), you need to add the following hidden input field into your search form.
<input type="hidden" name="Extensive_Search" value="Y">
Still the result pages are poorly formatted and since there are no suggestions for mis-spelled words, semantic or contextual search functionality, and no "best match" -- this leaves the user to fumble through the results, or worse; may cause potential customers to leave your site and go to Google or another search engine to locate the product they want to buy.
But, there is a solution...
There's a new sheriff in town, and no it's not 'big brother', it's just the opposite. Everyday people now have the ability to propel your business into the spotlight, or drag it down by it's heels.
How have these people become so empowered?
Consumer review web sites now give them a soapbox to stand on right in the middle of the virtual village square.
One of the new players in the Web 2.0 "review this business" business is Yelp and there are others including iKarma, CitySquares, OpenList and JudysBook, just to name a few.
While some people are saying, "Power to the people!", others, including business owners are crying foul. An article in The Register, claims that Yelp not only pays reviewers -- a fact Yelp owners acknowledge, saying, [they do pay reviewers], but "Only for about two month in new areas".
Yelp, was co-founded by Jeremy Stoppelman and Russel Simmons who both formerly worked as engineers at PayPal. (I can't help saying it -- anyone who worked at PayPal knows what it's like to hear customers complain! -- but that's a topic for another review)... Yelp CEO Stoppelman denies that advertisers can pay and have bad reviews removed or pushed down to the bottom of the page where they are less obvious, (and less likely to turn up in search engine listings). Stoppelman seemed to back-track a bit and say that he couldn't argue that some "rogue salesperson" was pitching that scenrio to potential advertisers.
The problem with these review sites is [READ MORE...]
The Payment screen in the Admin section of Volusion V.5 has changed from earlier versions and is not very well documented. Follow the directions below if you're not using Volusion's own SkipJack payment processing.
Make sure you sign up with a Merchant Account / Payment Gateway service that is compatible with Volusion. The majority of third party merchant account providers resell Authorize.net accounts. These instructions assume you're using an Authorize.net account.
Once your merchant account is approved you'll need certain info to setup on the Volusion payments screen, (specifically the API ID and TRANSACTION KEY). If you're all set, follow these easy steps:
Go to: Admin > Settings > Payment
In the section Payment Gateways, select "United States", (if you're in the U.S.), then select "Other" from the two pull downs.
You will see four text input fields (below the pull-downs).
Once you've setup the payment gateway info, you will want to test. I suggest creating a PRODUCT with the code "TEST-1" and price it at $1.00 with no shipping charge. You will then want to purchase the item, check the ORDERS section of Volusion, and if you are satisfied that it's working correctly, try issuing a credit for the order to test that capability.
If you don't know where to start or are having trouble getting approved for a merchant account -- I highly recommend checking out www.e-onlinedata.com They have been very patient with new customers, explaining the details. They offer a solid package and won't gouge you for setup fees and statement fees. Their discount rate and transaction fees are competitive with other merchant account providers.
If you need any help with Volusion, feel free to contact me.
You had a web designer create a custom template for your Volusuion store and it looks great. You got great products. You've got great prices. You offer great service. But, you aren't getting enough traffic to your site.
What's next? You look into Adwords and other PPC advertising, and even spend a little money to buy some traffic. It works well, but after considering your narrow profit margin, and competition for keywords in your market, you think, "There has to be a better (cheaper) way to get people to the site".
One way to get traffic is to run a promotion. Sure, you could buy PPC ads to promote the special pricing, free shipping offer, or other savings -- but then you realize there [READ MORE...]