Dotcomweavers:blog

Do Not Be the Dinosaur

Dotcomweavers Inc, NJ — Tue, 07 Sep 2010 16:25:15 +0000

In the business world, just like in everything else, quickly adapting to change is the key to survival. Take a good look around, new businesses in every conceivable industry are popping up daily. The face of business is rapidly changing since the emergence of the internet and the many doors it has opened to every aspect of society. Yesterday, your company may have had 5 main competitors. Today it has 10 and tomorrow it will have well over 20. When it comes to the internet, the numbers and possibilities are unlimited. That includes the number of customers and potential sales your business could be making everyday.

Is your company struggling to survive? Why, when help is just a mouse-click away?

Everything is on the web now. Even if your business has yet to find it’s way online, the tools and services to help get it there are easily accessible from the internet. Truthfully, businesses can only blame themselves for lack of sales. If you are not reaching customers, then you are not looking and advertising in the right places. Expand your horizons and find a client base in new regions, rather than relying on just your local community.

Accomplishing this feat is not as hard as it may first appear. In fact, transitioning to the online scene and becoming a major presence can be an almost painless task. Maybe your business is already online, but things are still looking a bit dreary for you. Then you need to update your online storefront and start making use of the newest and best web technologies for presenting your product or service to customers.

First things first: If you are not online with your business, GET ONLINE. No matter how niche your service or product, there are customers out there that need and want it. Business 101 stresses that the most important part of business is Location, Location, Location. Well, in this day and age, billions upon billions are spent every year in online sales. Local economies are subject to downturns that greatly effect the businesses in town. When you are on the internet, customers are available by the millions.

Second: If you are already online, then you need to make sure you are making use of the latest in web technologies to attract and retain visitors. Not sure how to do that? Shop around and find a quality, reliable web development company to help bring the right look and feel to your online storefront. Get an overhaul on web design that is sure to attract more visitors. Include tasteful graphics and multimedia to help retain those visitors and turn them into loyal customers. Make sure your checkout process is easy and convenient for them, once they decide to purchase from your business. These are the areas of greatest importance when transitioning your online business into an internet success.

The hardest part is finding a web development and design company that offers these services and more. Dotcomweavers is unique in the New Jersey and New York area, as they provide web design, web development, e-Commerce solutions and internet marketing strategies.

Using the right company to help re-invent your web presence is just as important as making the decision to get and stay ahead of your competitors. Recall the fate of the dinosaurs. They were slow to adapt when the Earth changed and so they died out, while other species adapted quickly and managed to thrive. Your business must adapt to the ever growing entity that is the internet. Embrace it and make it work for you. Through it, your business can stay ahead of the market and reach millions of new customers. Incorporate the best in web technology and online sales techniques into your business model and start finding out what true success feels like.

The Thirst for osCommerce

Dotcomweavers Inc, NJ — Fri, 27 Aug 2010 18:17:42 +0000

As online retailing continues to grow, therefore the demand for eCommerce solutions also is increasing. Our friends at osCommerce, are providers of such solutions that allow Internet store owners to setup, run and maintain their online stores. Now the OS in osCommerce stands for “open source” meaning the source code can be accessed to the source code to customize and modify the functions of the software.
osCommerce offers a wide range of out-of-the-box features that allows online stores to be setup fairly quickly with minimal effort. It is available under the GNU General Public License and can be used on any web server that has PHP and MySQL installed.

osCommerce began in 2000 in Germany by Harald Ponce de Leon, it is now currently powering close to 12,000 registered worldwide live shops. It is also an online shop ecommerce solution that is constantly under ongoing development by the more than 2,000 open source developers.

There are many variations to the web design software and some companies have begun offering osCommerce SEO modules as add-ons that can be used in a ready-made search engine friendly format. Because of the ever-growing support of the open source community, osCommerce templates also exist and some osCommerce template stores sell pre-configured templates.

Some Standard features that you will recognize of the open web development platform include easy sign up, shopping cart feature with product reviews, special products with multi-level categories. Developers also have implemented an address book and order history for tracking past orders. Additional features include meta tags, URLs, compatibility with all major browsers, multi-lingual English, German and Spanish by default and secure transactions with Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) support.

Last year, osCommerce announced the fifth and final alpha release of osCommerce Online Merchant v3.0 codenamed Vanillekipferl. This version is a stable production-ready release and will be the first supported release in the v.3x series. The osCommerce Online Merchant v2.2 to v3.0 migration tool was also announced at that time.

The all new features in the osCommerce Online Merchant v3.0 boasts the new object-oriented framework, fresh installation routine, new template structure implementation, additional service modules and language definitions implementation.

Web design and web development provider Dotcomweavers provides various web development services for osCommerce like templates, customization, support and maintenance. Dotcomweavers, which offers integration services with gateways like PayPal and Google Checkout, helps develop a unique and ideal store using osCommerce and Dotcomweavers services to increase online traffic and create an most efficient and enjoyable internet shopping experience for your customers.

Dotcomweavers Inc is a NJ/NY based web solutions company creating customized online business stores, with expertise in osCommerce platform. For more details, visit http://www.dotcomweavers.com/ecommerce.html

Food for your Website Thoughts: Dotcomweavers Recipe

Dotcomweavers Inc, NJ — Mon, 23 Aug 2010 06:38:36 +0000

Web design and development requires special knowledge and skill that focuses on creating content presentations which are accessed through the Internet by using website enabling software also known as web browsers by the end users. It is no accident that web designs have striking similarities to books in the sense that the homepage of a website is equivalent to the cover of the book while the web pages are no different than the pages of a book. From another aspect, websites can also be defined as information portals that contain a wide range of data.

At Dotcomweavers Inc., we breathe and live all that is web development. We will guide the creation or redesign of your website from the idea to the live website optimizing each framework of display technology and digital coding. The two aforementioned frameworks for web design and development are used primarily for facilitating the maintenance of websites and provide assistance for presenting multi-format data. The advancement of computers have literally changed the way information is passed on from one person or business to another, all because of the existence of websites. Now, websites have an enormous responsibility of increasing the demands of users in a sophisticated manner.

Now we emphasize the importance of the four critical aspects for web design and development, which are content, usability, appearance and visibility. Content is information relevant to the site which is created and used by web designers. Usability refers to ease at which the site can be used, in other words “user friendly”. Appearance and visibility works in unison in the sense that good graphics as well as interesting features creates an attractive appearance; however, this is useless and irrelevant if no one can actually see it. Athough the content, usability and appearance should be managed and properly cared for on all pages of the website, visibility is viewed by many as the most important aspect of any website for the basic reason mentioned above – if you can’t be seen then you are basically non-existent. In close relation, the second most important thing is “accessibility” through the major search engines like Google, Yahoo and Bing as well as relevant advertisement mediums.

Web solutions should not left to the amateurs; work of this magnitude and importance should be performed by experts or professionals. Dotcomweavers’ years of experience and numerous clients who recognize the importance of having a website that’s attractive, competitive and approachable.

Dotcomweavers Inc is a NJ/NY based web solutions company that specializes in web design, web development, e-commerce, logo creation, content development, php programming and SEO Internet Marketing. For more details, visit www.dotcomweavers.com

Clients, Camera, Feedback!

Dotcomweavers Inc, NJ — Sun, 15 Aug 2010 20:51:39 +0000

The Internet has experienced an unbelievable growth and evolution which includes the number of individuals and businesses who rely on the Internet daily for personal and business reasons. A major innovation on this upsurge of interest in internet marketing has been the application of video for mainstream marketing.

Mobile video devices and video marketing are now financially within the realm of possibilities for nearly all businesses who do any advertising. Almost every mobile device is equipped with standard video capablities, therefore if it may play music, make calls, or snap shots, chances are it can play or even shoot video. If you think about it, that is an advertising channel right in the palm of your customers’ hand.
For you businesses out there, consider the use of videos and multimedia because it is easier than you may think. Now think about how testimonials from genuinely satisfied clients help generate more confidence in prospective clients. Experience with videos also helps businesses realize the importance of a personal touch in its marketing and this can often be accomplished by “striking while the iron is hot” which means getting a video testimonial when the person’s emotions are still fresh and high. The more recent the positive experience the more eager is the customer to rave about the service or product. Emotions sell products and a quotation from a person who is in on an emotional high is very compelling and can be very convincing.

Also, the use of a small video camera is much less threatening to a person than a bulky camera because everyone is used to having their picture taken. So you can encourage them to record their own video. Think of it as a digital compliment that you can share and use to benefit your business. To make the most of the opportunity for a testimonial it is worth the time for a business owner or manager to make a list of possible questions and these can be as simple as “How would you describe my service or product?” What is your favorite feature of my service or product?” “Specifically, how has your life changed because of my product?”

Dotcomweavers know two most important benefits of getting personal video testimonial from customers. That is seeing our satisfied client with their appreciation and enjoyment of our services and the recorded testimonial is authentic. It cannot get anymore personal and genuine than a video testimonal, certainly a step up from a written letter of typed feedback.

Dotcomweavers Inc is a NJ/NY based web solutions company providing high quality web development solutions. Every customer has questions, see what some of our clients have to say about us. For more information, visit Dotcomweavers Video Testimonials

Web 2.0 Means Business & So Do We

Dotcomweavers Inc, NJ — Mon, 09 Aug 2010 06:42:33 +0000

When the Internet was in its first generation, pundits were unanimous in declaring that as the Web grew, it will fundamentally change how business is conduct. Certainly, time has proven those predictions to be true. As the first wave of the internet ended in late 90s, with the dot com boom fading away, it was thought that the Internet was finished as a business platform. Fortunately, Web 2.0 made its way into the continuously developing ways of the Web.

Web 2.0 is is based on new ideas in web design and web development that incorporate new programming languages to create an interactive web experience for customers thus opening new channels of communication especially with companies. Now exists an entire generation of people who have grown up not knowing the world without the Internet. This generation ultimately feeds off the convenience and instantaneous experience of the World Wide Web now in Web 2.0.

Unfortunately, some companies have not kept pace with web 2.0 development and their web sites still reflect the obsolete and outdated web development techniques. Similarly, web design has changed dramatically in the past ten years from the use of just a few design languages just a few years ago, to today with web 2.0 development including several different languages to create a far richer internet experience. It is evident that businesses that do not take advantage of Web 2.0, and remain merely static and informative, run a high risk of losing their business to the competition that capitalizes Web 2.0

Doctcomweavers helps small businesses and individual entrepreneurs move into the web 2.0 arena. Our thorough experience with Web 2.0 fuels our commitment to helping small business achieve their goals by providing professional and attractive website designs to customers throughout the United States. We stand by our skilled developers who specialize in Web 2.0 websites. Our proven portfolio takes the internet users to a new level of online experience. We remind you that our team is also business minded. Not only do we create websites, but we make sure they are customized to meet or exceed business expectations.

Dotcomweavers Inc is a NJ/NY based web solutions company highly skilled and experienced in Web 2.0 development and design. For more information, visit Dotcomweavers Web 2.0

A Winning Combination: Dotcomweavers Inc & Miva Merchant

Dotcomweavers Inc, NJ — Mon, 02 Aug 2010 14:26:05 +0000

As the growth of technology continues unbounded, more companies are establishing or upgrading their Internet presence. E-commerce is a huge business at the present, with no signs of slowing down anytime soon. One of the biggest problems facing any firm is how to integrate any online shopping service into their website. Miva Merchant has certainly built a solid reputation through its quality online store and e-commerce solutions.

Owners who wish to create a more pro-active online store now have many more choices available to them. With this software solution, the management of shopping carts, product catalogues and payment options is fully interwoven into a successful Internet facade. Every form of commercial transaction, including online shopping, business to customer online sales and e-commerce are now readily available. The expertise of Dotcomweavers Inc specializes in designing, building and customizing a virtual store through Miva Merchant that is ready for immediate transactions.

Miva Merchant offers a balance of standard and customized services that are available. Specialized pages can be used for different categories of the business, including product or check out pages. Many firms like to include additional content on their products, to give consumers a better idea of what they offer. This can also include a Frequently Asked Questions section that will provide a more beneficial shopping experience to your customers.

Dotcomweavers Inc can take the extra step by setting up advanced functions that are not in the standard Miva package. This includes such things as Order Tracking, Discount Coupons, Advanced Search Modules and Gift Certificates. These are all accomplished through third party modules that have been designed for these specific purposes. The design personnel can also offer the ability to import products through the use of data feeds into the online store. That feature alone can make the difference in setting you apart from the competition that is just doing the standard.

It is highly recommended to employ the experts at Dotcomweavers Inc for your store. Here is exactly why:

We don’t have the steep learning curve necessary to learn the programs
There are more modules available for customization
Saving of time by having this done by qualified professional.

Are you working with affiliate programs or need reporting for analysis? Dotcomweavers can also run all of the affiliate programs and provide the proper tracking codes that will list both earnings and payouts. In addition, statistics that list revenue, order volume, and top selling products can be easily assimilated into the regular reports on the website. With automatic shipping rate from all of the major providers (UPS, USPS and FedEx) in real time, there is no need to worry about shipping problems. Customers also have multiple payment options on every Miva store, making this extremely convenient to purchase an item they have located.

The advantages of having Dotcomweavers and Miva Merchant for your online store solutions yield all positives for your business. Dotcomweavers Inc has all of the experts on staff who can fully implement the Miva software system to optimize your sales while minimizing the time you have to spend on information technology issues. We are the first and best choice for creating that perfect online sales system and provide the boost that your business needs.

Dotcomweavers Inc is a NJ/NY based web solutions company providing high quality e-commerce solutions with thorough experience in Miva Merchant for your online store. For more information, visit Dotcomweavers Services

Is Your Payment Process Costing You?

Dotcomweavers Inc, NJ — Fri, 30 Jul 2010 20:10:06 +0000

Have you ever went shopping in a department store and had pleasant time walking around finding that the store has every item you are looking for and getting discount prices? Sounds like an enjoyable day out shopping to me, until you get to the cashiers and the lines are longer than a new product release at an Apple store. If you are one of the few customers with the patience to tough out the line, you make it to the cashier only to find that your items are actually not on discount!

This is a shopping nightmare for many, especially during the holidays. This is one of the reasons why online shopping has steadily grown in the past years. However, this unpleasant experience has its digital parallel online. Many ecommerce websites have a beautiful product layout, a sweet shopping cart, but make the mistake of some standard payment or checkout process that turns of the customer from coming back or worse bailing out on the items they chose.

Check out some common mistakes that can cost you the sale:

“Here’s your total, but it is really more than that”

Asking for credit card information before providing shipping costs.

This is aggravating for the consumer mainly because they will be given a higher total price than what they are expecting.
The customer gets suspicious that they are unfairly being charged extra shipping costs.

“Screens and screens to make you scream”

The payment process seems endless if every step is a new page.

If it is taking the customer numerous screens to confirm their order, then something is wrong.
Easy and convenient is always on the shoppers mind, so make checking out as easy or easier than 1,2,3.

“Please provide some information about yourself irrelevant to the purchase, I mean register”

Registration is good, making it mandatory and asking for too much information can hurt.

Shoppers already frown upon doing more than they have to, so if you are making it mandatory to register for before they purchase. They probably will find another place to shop.
The customer may decide to register when they come back. Be sure to keep it simple and not ask for too much. Social security numbers, mobile phone number, is asking a bit much, so you get the idea. We do not need to know their favorite ice cream flavor.

Being in business for small businesses, we acknowledge what these mistakes do for your ecommerce site. The simple fact that business and payments can be done online does not make it easy for shoppers. Dotcomweavers Inc. works with our customers to ensure that these mistakes along with others outside of ecommerce are not made. We work with you and provide our expertise to make sure that your website is geared toward optimal performance.

Dotcomweavers Inc is a NJ/NY based web solutions company providing high quality e-commerce solutions to ensure your online business performs to successful results. For more information, visit Dotcomweavers Services

Consider the Load Factor

Dotcomweavers Inc, NJ — Fri, 16 Jul 2010 18:29:36 +0000

The average internet user does not see page loading speeds as a concern anymore. Possibly in the pre-broadband days when it was common for you to hear your computer dial in and hear the sweet sound of connectivity, which was actually an unpleasant shrilling phone sound followed by what sounds like a snowy television from the Poltergeist movie. Back then it took minutes for a page to load. Also, internet websites were not as complex as what we have today so it is safe to say that unless there is some problem with your ISP, page loading speeds are not an issue.

However, if you are an online business owner and have an ecommerce website, you cannot, I repeat must not ignore the Load Factor! Here is why.

Google has decided to put more focus on web page load speeds as a factor in determining page ranking. Google is more than capable of measuring how long it takes for your page to fully load. As they index your pages they are simultaneously measuring the load speed of each your websites’ pages. Google then calculates an average over a time period which then factors into how your page will rank.

Therefore, knowing the Load Factor can benefit you in two ways. First, is being able to choose a fast hosting service. A fast hosting service will give your website the edge of loading at hyper fast speeds, thus giving you better page ranking as was just explained. Second, is simply for your customers. We all know keeping happy customers is one of the keys to a successful online business. Therefore, enhancing their shopping experience with faster loading speeds can only benefit you in the end by leaving your customers with a fast and convenient visit to your ecommerce website.

Dotcomweavers Inc. continuously considers these factors when creating or upgrading a website. A slow loading website is as equally frustrating as choppy mobile phone reception (that is no stab to our friends at Apple). For that reason, Dotcomweavers Inc. can recommend our preferred hosting services to you. Our goal is to provide you the best all around service and solutions to maximize your website’s performance.

Dotcomweavers Inc is a NJ/NY based web solutions company providing high quality website development and e-commerce solutions. Websites are not only created but they are created to perform. For more information, visit Dotcomweavers Services

Featured Client: Customizing for Perfection

Dotcomweavers Inc, NJ — Mon, 12 Jul 2010 15:02:32 +0000

We take a look today at our featured client this week: Clifton Charles. Dotcomweavers Inc. is proud to be responsible for the digital makings of www.cliftoncharles.com. They approached us with a unique model in the men’s fashion industry and we were confident in creating the website to emulate their vision, company image and high quality service.

Keeping the spirit in the month of our nation’s birthday, Thomas Jefferson first said “All men are created equal…” we all know that he meant equality in rights and freedom. Fashion experts today can safely say Mr. Jefferson did not mean in clothing, simply because people come in all types of shapes and sizes. Clifton Charles, being in the fashion industry, obviously recognizes this but they have decided to take it to the next level. Men do come in all shapes and sizes, also they have differing personalities and interests. It does not stop there they consider the type of activities and lifestyle of an individual even their particular location. These essential demographic elements are collected and the specialists at Clifton Charles design a custom dress shirt that fits perfectly for extreme comfort and has the look and feel based on your provided information. It certainly is quite the effort in designing true custom clothing therefore Clifton Charles is willing to go these great lengths to offer only the best in custom fashion.

Dotcomweavers Inc. knew what was needed for the website to keep in line with the Clifton Charles vision. The entire shopping process is automated using a custom fabrics database working in conjunction with a unique and complex algorithm which recommends shirts to users based on their selections.

The entire ecommerce process was created seamless allowing current customers the ability to re-order shirts with full integration with the manufacturer and shipping logistics through the use of APIs. Dotcomweavers produced the entire backend which allows the admin to track and record every detail about their clients. Every personal profile created by the customer includes a comprehensive set of data fields regarding their physical, persona and environmental information as well as their activity report and contact information. This information is then stored in the database to create customizable reports based on selected fields. The typical ecommerce tools are all enhanced such as shopping cart features, as well as automated information processing with the manufacturer and logistics company.

Dotcomweavers Inc. is no stranger to customization, our work with Clifton Charles allowed us to take further steps in the unique business idea of customizing for the client. As Clifton Charles advances men’s dress shirts to a new level. It is safe to say the same for our web development accomplishments that certainly have taken ecommerce, web design and development to the next level and beyond.

Tell Us How You Feel About Us…Only If It’s Good.

Dotcomweavers Inc, NJ — Tue, 06 Jul 2010 15:10:43 +0000

The exponential growth of ecommerce certainly has changed the way we do business. Customers can shop while even at their own jobs, even though their boss may not be so happy with that. The right ecommerce website is fast and convenient enough that these new and loyal customers will decide they do not need to wait to get home to make a purchase or even wait until lunch. “This will just take a minute.”

With that said, an ecommerce site like that will certainly make the right impression and have the customer coming back for more. One concern is, how do you know that your website made that impression or any for that matter? The answer is, testimonials, feedback and ratings. Would it be wise to give your customers the power to tell you how they feel about you and your site? Many will say there is no need to, business is business, besides for many ecommerce sites a testimonial section has found its way to transform itself into a complaints section.

There is the common mistake right there when an online business owner has their fear of hearing or seeing negative testimonials. Our human nature does not like any type of rejection or negative critiquing. So they say rather just not deal with it. On the contrary, if you are not in the know of your faults, how can you correct it? There is enough competition in ecommerce that a customer can easily go somewhere else. You wouldn’t want that to happen, over and over again. So make the extra effort to keep customers happy, especially when they have conveniently told you about their not so friendly experience. (Also, keep in mind you know your business better than anyone else, so no need to sound the alarm every time you get a negative feedback. It will take a little extra effort in analyzing and seeing what can be done to correct recurring complaints and issues.)

Testimonials and comments can easily be moderated. The beauty of it, is if you don’t like what you see. Delete. However, don’t delete it without taking into consideration of what an actual negative critique is trying to tell you especially if you see one or more customers are having the same issue and/or problems. It will be wise to make the adjustment and keep a happy customer. Before you know it, you have taken these negative testimonials and now have an improved ecommerce site. The negatives soon lessen and you have more positives. In the end, it is beneficial for you and your online business.

Taking this time will only help in the long run. In our business of creating and improving websites, Dotcomweavers understands the feeling of being critiqued. It is all part of the business. We have made the necessary adjustments for ourselves and also made adjustments for our clients who needed to improve their ecommerce site. Be strong and take the negative criticism, our talented team of programmers, developers, and designers can ease make the necessary improvements to turn your negative feedback into positive ones.