Tara Arrives
Tara moved down from Seattle last night with everything she’s ever owned… into our small studio apartment. Right now boxes are piled high and we are going to have to get rid of her box spring since we have rollaway beds.
Shopify or Yahoo Merchants: Which to choose for your new online store?
Seth Godin is a supporter of Shopify and is interviewed here by Shopify’s founders. Yahoo’s ecommerce system is falling apart and isn’t nearly as good as Shopify’s.
With the ecommerce booming, everyone wants to cash in on a piece of that pie. Setting up an online store is quite a desirable thing to do these days, due to the sheer amount of revenue involved. Selecting your Ecommerce service provider is a pivotal step on the way towards your success. Two popular Ecommerce service providers currently are Shopify and Yahoo.
Appearance
Many users are content with Yahoo in terms of how their online store looks to other customers, but after learning about the amount of customization they can do through Shopify, they feel left out. Yahoo does offer some visually appealing and practical options when creating your online store, but it lacks in giving you flexibility and versatility in those departments. With Shopify’s new programming language (Liquid), setting up your online store is maybe a bit more complex, but you will be pleased once you see the results.
Customer Service
When it comes to resolving problems your online store might be facing, many users find Shopify to be readily available to help as compared to Yahoo. Maybe since Yahoo is a much larger company, they are a bit slower to respond to customer queries and solve them. Shopify’s technical assistants are ready a majority of the time to assist you whenever you have a problem. That is a huge factor for anyone because no one ever wants to waste time waiting on the phone to solve any issues with their online store.
Conclusion
At the end of the day if a quick assessment is made to choose between Yahoo and Shopify, Shopify clearly takes the cake. Their ease of use and sound technical background helped many customers make this decision because it is nice to know you’re in caring and capable hands. Many individuals want to make Ecommerce into a full-time profession, therefore the smooth and steady running of their online store is highly essential to them.
New Home Office
Bright & early morning video starring me with morning hair.
Lemonade with Kenny
Kenny and I went to Lemonade tonight and feasted.
BigCommerce Ecommerce Review
Go big on Ecommerce
After extensive reviews and searching around for the best ecommerce software, I have decided that BigCommerce is the best value on the market. Despite being a new contender in the business, BigCommerce has quickly gained over 7000 merchants and there is still no stopping. If you aim at designing and setting up a storefront all by yourself, then there is nothing more challenging than that, however, BigCommerce makes it look easy. Even if you lack the basic technical skills for opening up any online store, then surely BigCommerce can provide you all the desired assistance on that front.
BigCommerce is one of those rare programs that include some of the top features that are quite convenient to use. As opposed to other ecommerce solutions, BigCommerce is simpler and does not trouble the user with additional cumbersome features. The ease of installation and usage makes BigCommerce a perfect ecommerce solution. Their software is designed in such a way that you simply have to drag and drop items; hence you can customize the templates all by yourself without the need for any expertise.
BigCommerce Shopping Cart
From the customer’s perspectives, on grounds of functionality and customization options, BigCommerce is a better choice over many other big brands. They offer the SSL technology which prevents any forgery and safeguards the credit card and personal information of your customers.
The most feasible aspect of using BigCommerce for your online store is that their software is compatible with almost any company. Besides, their software is absolutely compatible with the entire major internet browser therefore your customers will not have any issues regarding the usage of your online store front. There are many other unique features that you get with BigCommerce. In order to understand those features more profoundly read on;
BigCommerce Easy To Customize
The business owners who opt for BigCommerce have access to over 50 designs. All you have to do is use the drag and design mode to customize the layout of your store according to your needs. This can be easily done by a non professional.
BigCommerce Easy to Get Started
With BigCommerce comes the ease of selling your products fast. The wizard that it provides helps you to set up your store quickly in some easy to understand steps. Furthermore, there are different videos also available that tutors you at each step. So if in case you get stuck, then you can always refer to them.
BigCommerce SEO Optimized
Search Engine Optimization is highly essential when we are dealing with online businesses. BigCommerce is ecommerce software that was fortunate enough to get reviewed by Aaron Wall. With there feedback incorporated in BigCommerce, there is a good chance that it can out run all its competitors on Google.
Your Data Is Safe With BigCommerce
It takes good care of the data of your online store. Security is mainly the first priority of many business owners. The data of the customers is protected with military grade security and encryption.
No Transaction Fee with BigCommerce
If your sales are growing then BigCommerce won’t penalize you for it. Meaning to say there are no hidden costs or the transaction charges. Every thing is clear cut when it comes to cost which is not the case in all shopping carts.
Customer Service with BigCommerce
It provides customer service along with technical support at each step. They are available for you 24/7 through their support portal such as the knowledge store, training videos, support ticket system along with a toll-free number. Besides, they provide more than just a forum. It’s a platform for everyone to share their views and have discussions on what’s important to the community.
BigCommerce is a reliable choice for many online retailers as it has a good grasp of internet today. Whether its templates, their website, shopping cart, etc., it appears that this ecommerce solution is quite polished. For any one looking to start a new online business or wishes to switch shopping carts, then BigCommerce is truly recommended for them.
UW alumni event at Jonathan Club in LA
I went to the UW alumni event yesterday with Jeremy at the Jonathan Club in downtown LA. Richard Karn, who played Al Borlin on Home Improvement a show starring Tim Allen I watched growing up, was the guest speaker.
Family of Computers
My family of computers:
The newest addition on the right is a Dell laptop with the new i7 processor, 8 gbs of ddr3 ram, 500 gb HD, awesome graphics card and display.
The computer in the middle is my old Dell laptop with a Core 2 duo processor, 2 gbs of ram and 150 gb hard drive. The HD was dying and the computer was running slowly so I replaced it with the new Dell.
My primary workhorse is my beefy 27″ iMac with intel core 2 duo 2.66 ghz processor, 4 gb ram and 800 GB hard drive along with the best screen.
Best Shopping Cart System Review
If you wish to run an online store, then you would certainly need the best ecommerce software suitable for your business. But, there are too many shopping carts available online, and one just gets stuck on the decision to make the choice. Fortunately, in my job as a professional web designer I have reviewed many shopping carts and as of late August 2010, my favorite is BigCommerce.
It’s not possible for you to compare 100 different shopping carts, but if you get a brief overview on their systems, then you will surely be able to pick the right one from an overwhelming number of ecommerce solutions. There are basically two kinds of shopping cart software; one that is hosted remotely and the other that is hosted locally.
In case of the locally hosted software, you just have to do the purchase once and the software is stored in your own server. However, in case of the remotely hosted software, you have to give monthly payments. Among the two, the locally hosted software offers the flexibility and control over the way shopping cart is handled. It’s important to note that you need expertise to handle it, but there are shopping cart companies that offer services such as the installation of the software and its customization.
You will find that the best shopping cart systems are the ones that are efficient in their functionality and provide a convenient usage. In the underlying text, you will find some of the best shopping cart systems and their prominent features that make them outstanding.
Take BigCommerce for instance, its an ideal option for people wanting to open an online store with little technical skills as well as for those who wish to establish a larger site with thousands of products. Its prominent features include feasibility for quick integration of existing designs, availability of several free templates, freedom for the modification of design and the convenient drag and drop tools. With these features, BigCommerce has become a leading name in ecommerce industry.
Another commendable name is that of Magento. It’s an ecommerce platform that offers some professional features such as the flexibility, control over the look and over the functionality of the online shop. Plus, you also get an added advantage to develop product and catalogue browser options. The best part about this system is that it is completely scalable and supported by an extensive network.
If you need a user-friendly operation then CS-Cart can be good shopping cart software. It comprises of five professional templates, and a unique trait of this system is that it’s a multilingual system along with a multicurrency feature.
While considering the ease of usage and user-friendly operation, Zencart is not far behind. It’s a free shopping cart system that is distributed like open source software. Though it needs to grow a bit more to reach the top spot, it has done quite fine so far.
There are many big names in the ecommerce industry and most of them are doing quite well, it’s just that you need to find the right one that suits your business. In this context, BigCommerce has a greater market value due to its various packages for different types of businesses while there are some who offer services only for the small online retailer stores.
Call to Action in Email Signature
Email signatures are usually boring and sad places, containing only contact information or legal notices. Why not make it more useful by including a call to action to try to get people to do something you would like them to do?
I created a new email signature for my gmail account, check it out:
Joel Gross
joelrgross@gmail.com
www.coalitiontechnologies.com
(206) 651-5675
Free lunch or $20 discount on your next invoice if you review my business on Yelp & Google Places:
http://www.yelp.com/biz/coalition-technologies-website-design-and-seo-venice
Of course this offer stands for all you friendly folks out there as well. My goal here is to get my customers to be sure to share their experiences using my business with other people.
Good idea or bad?
Vibram Five Fingers
I just received my new pair of Vibram Five Fingers KSO and am looking forward to testing them out!
Like my cheesy pic? :)
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