What is Magento

Magento is an open-source software which lets you manage different websites and store-view with ease. In other words, let’s say you have an e-commerce platform with hundred different products on display. Such a large number of products on a single platform create confusion. The solution to eliminate this clutter and still have all your products online is to create different web-stores for different products.

With Magento, we can do that with ease. Magento helps create multiple children websites out of your main platform, with each website linked to the main platform. Thus, you get a central inventory system from where you can manage all your web-stores and the products on those stores with ease.

A complete B2B and a B2C solution

Whether you have a B2B model or a B2C model, Magento development can come in handy in both the cases. Here’s how:

• Let’s say you have a B2B model whereby you sell your products to agents who then sell it to the consumers. With Magento, you can create a different web-store for each agent, giving him the products of his choice only, without creating a website from scratch. Thus, with Magento, you can create a sub-store of your main online store within minutes, which helps you save time as well as money.
• At the same time, you have a central inventory system which is useful for you as well as your agents. The agents get to know the number of products remaining in your inventory while you get to know the number of products sold through all your agents; hence, a better analysis of your sales and better management for your agents. They can even opt or new products that you add to your inventory without you having to add data separately to their web-stores.
• Same is the case with a B2C solution. You give your customers easily navigable webstores, with the option of displaying multiple images for a product and other features which allow for easy product browsing.
• It has been seen that e-commerce platforms with an easy-to-use interface and more product images have higher sales than other platforms. And that’s what Magento development helps you achieve.

Some other features which make Magento an excellent B2B and a B2C solution for e-commerce are:

• Agents can choose their own rates for the products they sell, while you still get to keep track of the sales
• Agents can choose their own mode of payment, thus giving them the freedom to customize
• You can incorporate all the features of the main store in the child-stores
• Easy product browsing for customers, giving them a better shopping experience
• Customers can add products to a wishlist for buying them later
• Customers can view the status of their order and their shopping history, thus leading to better customer satisfaction

Custom web development

Now, when we say Magento creates children web-stores out of your main store, it does mean it simple replicates your main store. In fact, each web-store created with Magento is fully customizable. Magento is a complete custom web development solution. You can decide the layout, design, features and other aesthetic aspects of all your sub-stores, thus giving your agents and your customers the kind of platform they like.

With Magento’s custom web development feature, you can also choose which data to share between your different web-stores and which data to keep exclusive to a particular web-store.

Search engine friendly e-commerce solution

And if you thought Magento is only easier web management, think again. Magento has in-built search engine friendly tools which help in the process of search engine optimization. Magento automatically generates search engine friendly URLs as well as a sitemap which can be submitted to search engines. It even gives you the option of rewriting the URLs to give you complete control over your product pages’ structure. In addition to that, this open-source software also generates a popular search terms page which saves time on keyword analysis. It’s even integrated with Google analytics to help in analysis of visitors to your site and SEO analysis of your e-commerce platform.

That’s what makes Magento a search engine friendly e-commerce solution.

It has a range of other features which give you a robust e-commerce solution and help you in increasing your sales. And you get that by saving cost as well as time, thus making Magento a win-win solution for you.

Related links

• http://www.magentocommerce.com/knowledge-base/entry/overview-how-multiple-websites-stores-work/
• http://www.magentocommerce.com/product/features

Stale ideas

Web businesses that have nothing new to offer, and are mere clones of an already successful business, don’t succeed. Does your e-business sell a product that is innovative? Is there something completely new about your social networking website? The key to avoid typecasting is to stay fresh. Look for problems and needs that you can solve.

Not defining your customer

The first rule in selling is to know your customer. Some startup e-businesses offer a variety of services and products, not knowing the profile of the users. As a result, they cannot offer tailor-made services for any specific age group or nature of target audience and this reduces the chances of succeeding.

Ineffective Marketing

The best marketing strategy is a well calculated plan. Marketing is the backbone of any business. A web site that has been creatively marketed without any regard to user acquisition costs might become cost ineffective.

For example, even buying keyword ads is a complex process. A good entrepreneur buys keywords that people most frequently use in searches while having high relevance and low competing advertisers. A common mistake most businesses make while cost cutting, is not hiring professional marketing consultants. They work on instinct, and their marketing plans lack a well researched strategy. This makes their marketing strategies ineffective. So the websites they make have inadequate SEO, SEM, and low virality, which results in low traffic to their website.

Poor web designing

Today, most websites seem like clones. Businesses make compromises while designing their web pages. They use free software and badly designed user interfaces.  So, first-time visitors find the home page unattractive and it fails to register in their minds. It is highly unlikely they will ever go back to a web site that’s hard to navigate, is poorly designed and does not offer them something interactive.

A person who wants to use an online personalized gift services will look at several companies that provide the service. He is likely to choose the site which gets the first rule of ‘catchingeyeballs’ right, more so when you are dealing with the business of ‘feel-good’- gifts.

Web businesses with cluttered, badly color coordinated websites, which have long download time and unclear navigational tools don’t work. Only professionally designed, well branded websites, with original and relevant content can be effectively marketed.

Given these reasons, it is best to employ the services of a web designing company to ensure significant online presence.

Lack of web analysis

Web Designing Vs Web Development. Web analysis is a process of analyzing the behavior of visitors to a website and then enhancing and modifying the features of the website to maintain and increase the traffic. Many web businesses design a website and then forget about it; and the resources invested in web designing go waste.Such e-businesses have no feedback regarding their website, as a result of which they cannot maintain a competitive edge.

No Networking

An entrepreneur needs to be friendly and people-focused. It is good to have an extended professional and personal network, before launching a web business.Web businesses that de-prioritize good partner and interpersonal relationships lose out in the long run.

Bad time and money management

A failed web business means that the founders have not managed their finances well. It includes over-spending or ineffective spending. Such individuals overlook the basic tenet of every business- time is money. They spend a lot of time bargaining for small cost reductions, while delaying launching time and other activities vital to growth in the world of start-ups.

The most important thing that leads to failed web businesses is lack of commitment and passion towards the work. Such people may know all the theoretical pitfalls that they can encounter, yet put in a half hearted effort to avoid them when confronted in the practical world. Hence, they continue to fail.

Pankaj Pandey’s expertise as an online marketing consultant and his prowess in custom website development has helped him reach the pinnacle of success, helping various web based businesses achieve success along the way.

Custom Web Development is a functional backend combination of effective language (like HTML, XML, PHP) and programming (like JavaScript, CGI, Flash, RSS) to provide a dynamic web solution to any client.

Whenever a client decides to elevate its customer experience, the first focal point is the website, which serves, both, as a significant touch point for the customer and as a continuing image of the business at large.

Ready-to-use web templates could cause more harm to your business than the short-lived advantage of cost-saving. In today’s dynamic business world, it becomes very important that you align your business goals with the existing practices. Any website which does not offer a rich interface which substitutes for actually ‘being there’ with the customer, will not be able to build any long-term credibility.

Features: A custom web development company works on a client’s needs and provides a rich platter of services to suit the ever-changing business environment. Call-to-action features like ‘Buy Now’, ‘Click here to talk with our agent NOW’, ‘Subscribe to our monthly newsletter’, are all examples of features which can be offered in this web model, contrary to the plethora of readymade web templates available out there.

Adaptability: When you identify an urgent need to change your website interface or add any new feature/alert to it, you would not want to let your other commitments suffer. Custom web development offers you a fast rate of change while you continue to focus on your primary area of work. This is how a trustworthy backend makes you an ace player in the market.

Compatibility: The client does not want to withstand the long ‘learning curve’ by itself. That is where a steady backend provides an effective business solution, which is compatible for a multi-server/multi-platform environment.

Online Presence: Once you have a strong and loyal customer base, you make them a part of your business, and they feel at home with your product or service. A significant contributor to this is an attractive website, which adapts according to the customer’s needs.

A professional custom web development company will give you the added advantage of creating a unique customer experience. It takes care of the backend while you put your money where the mouth is. SEO optimization, dynamic content, enhanced user-friendly features, online marketing and offsite product promotion are some of the key attractions of any respectable custom web offering. And if any time should you feel any feature is redundant or not working for your business, you let the developer know and he makes the quick change that puts you right back into the commanding seat – towards a wiser business solution and a sustainable market advantage.

Pankaj Pandey’s expertise as an online marketing consultant and his prowess in custom website development has helped him reach the pinnacle of success, helping various web based businesses achieve success along the way.

Given the focus of businesses on building a bigger client base, usually they shy away from saying ‘no’ to the client. Often, they don’t even realize that they are overburdened. It is tempting for businesses to take on the client’s project and hope that it somehow gets done in time. They are blinded by money or the fear of losing valuable customers.

When it is essential to say ‘no’ to client, businesses need to do so in a diplomatic way to avoid jeopardizing long term business relations with the client. Here are some practical ways to do so:

1. Do not respond immediately to a client’s request. Give it some thought, check your work schedule and then come up with a realistic work completion plan, before you take on the project.
2. Respond clearly and politely, so that the client understands that you won’t be able to work on the project. Explain the reasons because of which you will not be able to work on the project. This will help the clients to better understand why you are refusing the project. For example, saying “I wish I could say yes. Unfortunately, because of the current work load, I can’t complete the project effectively and on time. So, I am forced to say no to your project.” sounds better than simply saying “I cannot take this project.” Avoid using negative or offensive expressions, such as ‘It is unreasonable …” or “It is impossible to …”. Use positive language when responding to a client. Saying “We’d love to do this project, however …” is a gentle way of declining the client’s project.
3. Always give alternatives to the client – Keep a waiting list, and let your clients know when you will be free to work on their project. Give them a clear waiting time, such as one week or one month, and an approximate date on which you can begin work on their project.
4. Provide recommendations – In case you do not have the expertise or resources to do the project, let the clients know that they have the wrong person. If possible, recommend other professionals who can do it. Sometimes, a client might be in a hurry or under pressure, and need the services immediately. A recommendation of alternative service providers will not only help the clients but in the long run, it will also strengthen your business relations with them.

1. when our client contacted to Network Solution support tell them to buy SSL as your site is not secure.  (6 April)
2. I fixed theme files which is altered by this hack and checked my database for any possible code. found a funx.php on theme file and called in footer.php. site seems to fix that time for me. I used to clear my cookies to check at every refresh. my avast home antivirus and chrome browser help me to do that. Suddenly my blog database connection gone due to network solution effort i think. I changed all username and password for ftp, database, wp-admin users (8 April)
3. When i wake up at 9 April found hacked blog again this time this this is another issue. Theme footer have reference to a function and 1 file included that is created on server. not able to remember the name 2 random file without any extension. I am not sure how someone put file on my server. I fixed the site again and and checked multiple time with clearing the cookies.  Seems fixed. I am very curious to know how this thing is happing to the site. anyone placing file on my server. (9-April).
4. Seems everything is fixed i start working on to make site secure with ssl. fed up with redirect error and i finaly make that working. (10 April)
5. Url is now https.  i loosed my page rank and all back link on new site. (10 April)
6. Site is infected again. this time a plugins JavaScript file is infected. fixed again. (12 April).
7. Till now not noticed any infection issue (14 April)

Now i am getting strange errors on site not sure this is infection or ?????

More update coming . Feel free to comment. Thanks

Update 18 April

Site is again showing virus warning. I did all step to resolve nothing works. then i rename .htaccess upload a 1.php on root with  following code

According to my knowledge this is server issue. This is no more any WordPress Issues. May be this problem is solved by Network solution before people notiiced that.

Update 21 April

I gave up my effort with Network Solution and i shifted to another Host.

Best response on this issue

Summary: A web host had a crappy server configuration that allowed people on the same box to read each others’ configuration files, and some members of the “security” press have tried to turn this into a “WordPress vulnerability” story.

WordPress, like all other web applications, must store database connection info in clear text. Encrypting credentials doesn’t matter because the keys have to be stored where the web server can read them in order to decrypt the data. If a malicious user has access to the file system — like they appeared to have in this case — it is trivial to obtain the keys and decrypt the information. When you leave the keys to the door in the lock, does it help to lock the door?

A properly configured web server will not allow users to access the files of another user, regardless of file permissions. The web server is the responsibility of the hosting provider. The methods for doing this (suexec, et al) have been around for 5+ years.

I’m not even going to link any of the articles because they have so many inaccuracies you become stupider by reading them.

If you’re a web host and you turn a bad file permissions story into a WordPress story, you’re doing something wrong.

P.S. Network Solutions, it’s “WordPress” not “Word Press.”

–Matt

Consumers have changed the way they view companies. In the past, consumers had a limited number of choices when purchasing goods and services. Before the web, consumers purchased goods and services from a local company or possibly through a catalog. The U.S. Census Bureau estimated that total e-commerce sales for 2009 were $134.9 billion. More and more people are signing on to the web to make purchases. This has provided a significant opportunity for businesses, especially small to medium size businesses. Think about it. If I wanted to buy a bicycle ten years ago I would have went to my local Wal-Mart to make the purchase. That’s not the case today. I can get online and search specifically for the bike I want. It could be that I end up making the purchase from a small bike shop in Minnesota and have it shipped to me. The web has increased the purchasing power of consumers. We now have more choices and are not limited to what our local companies can offer. You are probably thinking what does this have to do with whether or not my company should have a blog? Everything.

It is your responsibility to differentiate yourself from your competition. It is much more difficult to do this today. Not only do you have to compete with your local competition, but you also have to compete with businesses in other cities, states, and even other countries. One way you can differentiate yourself from your competitors is with a blog. Consumers want to feel good about their purchases. I will gladly pay $10, $25, or $50 extra to a business that I feel understands my circumstances and reaches me on a personal level. That is exactly what a blog is…personal. It could be that I chose to purchase my bike from the online company in Minnesota rather than my local Wal-Mart because the company in Minnesota spoke to me in a different way through a blog.

A blog creates a feeling with consumers that they are getting inside knowledge. It helps companies establish relationships with their customers, which by default leads to trust. Do you want to see an increase in online sales or see your website become a tool rather than an expense? Get on a personal level with your consumers.

Another reason you should have a blog is because it keeps your website updated with fresh content. Common sense tells us that people are not going to visit your website repeatedly if they see the same thing each time they visit. However, if your content is changing consistently they will continue to visit your website in order to remain informed. The opportunity to sale your products and services increases greatly with the more visits you have to your website and the longer people remain on your website.

Having a blog opens up so many avenues for companies. Think about the numerous ways you can keep your website visitors engaged through a blog.

1. Inform them of new products and services, or changes to existing products and services.
2. Offer online discounts and promotions to your blog readers.
3. Inform your readers of how your company is doing in relation to its’ goals and objectives.
4. Post articles regarding your company’s involvement in charity (consumers love this).
5. Post information about your employees.

These are just a few of the ways you can utilize a blog to reach out to your website visitors and customers. Do not use a blog to bash your competition. This is one of the cardinal sins of blogging. We, consumers, get really tired of negative publicity. So, keep it positive and be consistent.

If you are still unsure if your company needs a blog you apparently skipped this entire article and went straight to the bottom hoping to find a summary. Well, here is your summary. Yes, you need a blog. If you are on board and are ready to implement a blog then we recommend using WordPress.

About the Author:
Ray Goins is an author and owner of www.stopdev.com. StopDev provides web design and online marketing tips.

• I am totally new to dot net platform so i faced lots of problem to install Umbraco on shared server. After lots of research i  found Umbraco is not compatible with networksolution and aplus.net shared hosting. Then i choosed Softsys. All thing set with softsys.
• Surprised to see a nice cms. take 3-4 days to try after that i am successfully deploy my first website in Umbraco.
• I found a beautiful way to manage the content from Umbraco.

As i am not very much familiar to dot net i did,not try to modify .net macro. i played lots of with xslt to achive desired result.

My client  need personalized form and each  form have multiple radio group. i searched on net to find a solution. I found a solution mc_ed_form from forum of Umbraco but that not support Radio groups. So i tried a solution from my way , I write a jquery code to transform all drop down list to Radio group.

Following are the Unobstructive jquery code which i used in page where form is there

If you found any problem with code or any modification suggestion Please let me know. I know this is not a good way to proceed but this solved my purpose. I am finding a dot net way to do it.

Think about your audience. Are they looking for immediate answers and solutions? We bet they are. Most likely these visitors to your website are very much like you. Chances are you use the Internet more than other types of media to search for information. If a web page doesn’t “grab your interest” within 8 – 10 seconds after landing on it… you move on!

As a “first step” we suggest that you start by reviewing the questions listed below. We are convinced that once you get to the last question… you will have a list of action items identified that will greatly improve the productivity of your current website. The success or failure of the site and/or business may very well depend upon the decisions you make after reading these questions

What Do You Know About Your Clients and Prospects State of Mind?

When visitors land on your website, they have very little time to read what you say. They have a need for information or a product and don’t want to listen or read verbose descriptions and comments. You have about 8 seconds to engage them and get them to take action. Do most visitors land on your website wanting:

1. information,
2. a “quick fix”,
3. a bargain,
4. a large selection,
5. or a telephone call, etc.?

It is imperative to know the answers to these and many other questions BEFORE you design the pages within your website.

Do You Make Website Visitors Feel You Can Satisfy Their Wants and Needs?

Landing on any page within your website [especially the Homepage] must make the visitor know that you understand their needs, business, wants, and desires. The more you put yourself into the “mindset” of the website visitor, the better chance you have of converting their visit into something you want to happen i.e. buy, complete a contact us form, bookmark the page, pick up the phone and call you or any other method of measurable conversion.

What Approach Do You Take When Developing Pages Within Your Website?

What do you think you would want from your website if you were the prospective visitor or client? Assume you don’t know as much information as you want in order to make an informed decision. Talk to these visitors in a language they will understand. If visitors want more insight or information, tell them to click on the more info link or give you a call. They will follow your direction ONLY if you have built some level of trust or understanding.

What are You “Selling” to the Website Visitor?

Are you focused on telling them about your product or service or are you making them understand that choosing your firm will deliver that special feeling they are seeking by making the purchase? Are you sure that you made the visitor know that you understand their needs, wants, problems, etc.? What techniques did you implement to get your points across?

How are You Going to Get the Visitor to Stop and Think About Your Service or Product?

Remember… they are ready to pass by your website in a blink of an eye. What are you going to do to engage them? The answer you come up with will be critical to the success you have in gaining their confidence enough to buy or call you. Make sure what you say is NOT the same old thing they are used to seeing or reading on other websites. Be boring and you lose! Address the issues that appeal to the visitor and they WILL STOP! This is hard work… but worth the effort.

What Kind of “Call to Action” Statements are You Placing on Your Website?

Turning a visitor into a prospect or client is one of the most critical actions of your website. How will you engage them? Once they know that you understand their needs and wants, they are more inclined to follow your CTA direction. Call to Action statements are critical to the success of any website’s conversion. Guide them in a manner that is more telling, rather than selling. Don’t be afraid to be assertive.

How Does Your Website Address the “Who Are We” Issue?

Again, it is about making the website visitor feel confident that they are choosing a reputable firm or organization with which to do business. They need to read about your success. This can be done by exhibiting your affiliation with associations, awards won, satisfied client statements, client success stories, examples of your work, etc. Show them you are a “player” in your industry.

Are You Prepared to Answer: “What Makes You Different”?

What have clients and prospects said about you and your company? Have they applauded you for your approach to doing business? Did they say you made them feel like you understood their needs and wants? Think back to the reasons clients buy from you. How did you meet their needs and wants? Give your prospective clients reasons to do business with your firm.

A final thought…

Make it your primary goal to understand the potential client. Look at your website through that client’s perspective. Who are they? What makes them different? What do they individually want and need? Be informative… do more telling than selling. They will “get it” and appreciate that you have made them an educated buyer. Finally, tell them what you want them to do next. Get them to take the first step and be ready to deliver on the expectations you have set throughout your website!

Finally, be sure to hire Internet marketing professionals to do the job if you don’t have the capabilities in-house. Too much is at stake to leave this part of your business to chance! We are pleased to provide you the insightful comments contained herein.

About The Author
We have 11 years of Internet marketing experience re building successful website promotíon programs and meeting the challenges of appealing to today’s Internet visitor in the current economic environment. Call us at 631-423-0815 for further discussion on how we might be able to assist you and your team or to review the Full list of PDF documents on Internet Marketing and Conversion techniques.InternetConsultingAndCoaching.com

Advantages of Java programming

1. As a programming language Java is secure, multi threaded, distributed, high-performance, object-oriented, robust, dynamic and portable in nature.
2. Java applets are platform independent and utilized for web programming.
3. Mobile applications made by Java is fully compatible with any mobile operating systems. In software development this is denoted as prime feature of Java mobile applications.
4. Enterprise Java Beans (EJB), Remote method Invocation (RMI) are globally accepted architecture for distributed systems.
5. Struts, CORBA, Hibernate, DAO are widely accepted Java architectures which fully support internationalization (i18n) for enterprise applications.
6. In Java programing, we can use any kind of database (paid or non-paid) as per the client’s requirement, i.e. for choosing database, Java programming language does not create any burden.
7. We all know that Java is a open source programming language and it is easily available in the market without any hassle.

Advantages of Dot Net programming

1. In Dot Net programing the programming codes and the HTML exist in different files.
2. Dot Net frame works are hugely used for doing specific applications.
3. Automatic garbage collection is possible in Dot Net programming.
4. Dot Net uses safe type cast and Strong and powerful IDE’s for better and faster application development.
5. As this is a consistent programming model, it has got the direct support for security, in short Dot Net is highly secured programming language.
6. Dot Net provides an attribute called Serialization which is used for publishing or producing an item in the form of a series of information bits.
7. It is language independent, so if the team has multiple skill expertise like C#, Dot Net, C++, developers can still work on the same project with different skills set.
8. MS technologies provides RAD (rapid application development) to deliver project faster, because customers always prefer faster delivery.
9. Dot Net debugging is very effort-less therefore, can fix the bugs quicker.

Advantages of PHP programming

1. This programing language is accepted by maximum web programmers for its open source features.
2. PHP is a server side programming language that is widely used for web programming.
3. PHP language has some similarity with C and C++ programming. PHP syntax is quite similar to C and C++ syntax thus, a PHP programmer can easily learn it and make use of it in their respective works.
4. PHP programming language can run on both Windows and UNIX servers.
5. My-SQL is well known online database and can be interfaced very well with PHP. Therefore, PHP and My-SQL are an excellent combination for small business owners.
6. PHP language has got the powerful output buffering techniques that further increases over the output flow.
7. PHP can be used with a large number of relational database management systems, runs on all of the most popular web servers.
8. PHP5 is dynamic, platform independent and fully object oriented language that helps to build complex and large web applications.

About the Author

Joanna Gadel has the creative knowledge as a Software developer and her educational articles on PHP programming helps her readers to better understanding in recent programing arena.

Its seems that Windows live have very promising feature for blogging and networking.

Following are the feature of Window Live Writer.

• New border treatments (including Instant Photo)
• Crop and tilt photos
• Insert multiple photos
• Toolbar alignment commands enabled for images
• Insert and upload Windows Live photo albums
• Insert and publish video to YouTube
• Additional spell checking languages: Arabic, Basque, Bulgarian, Catalan, Croatian, Czech, English (Australia), Estonian, Greek, Hebrew, Hungarian, Indonesian, Latvian, Lithuanian, Malay, Polish, Romanian, Russian, Slovak, Slovenian, Turkish, and Ukrainian
• Server-side tagging (for supported blogs)
• Type-down filtering in the Open dialog
• Twitter, Digg and Flickr Plug-ins
• Improved blog account setup
• Lightbox and Windows Live Spaces inline preview support
• Improved category control: adding categories, type-down filtering
• Tabbed view switching
• AutoLink glossary
• Smart quotes/typographic characters
• Word count
• Support for bidirectional languages (like Hebrew and Arabic)
• Tabs for view switching
• Updated look and feel