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It's payback time


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Apologise again Java, off-topic....

 

Now i really dont understand why your thread would be removed because you wont release code maybe it was for another reason.

 

On the note about the tab system, it was really easy to find out how you did it and i also have it implemented on my store  :D

 

 

Mike, you are absolutely right! Adding the css work isnt difficult at all if you look at our source code. However, there could have been no other reason to remove our thread other than the fact we didnt have time to develop an official contribution?

 

Anyway, it's water under the bridge. We had a record going at 5,000+ page views and 5+ pages in the thread tho! ;)

Carpe Carp: Seize the Fish.

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Thanks moonlitsun,

 

I wish there was a guide to the stylesheet somewhere (I may make the suggestion to the team). 

 

There really is not a whole lot of custom code in my site.  It is a really good design job done by AfterDark and some coding work done by Emmett but 99% of the code changes are just contibutions that have been installed and removing the parts of osC that were not needeed.  I think I have been open with the code used in the site such as the questions about the FAQ pages, etc.  But since the Gift Voucher FAQ (the basis for our FAQ, Privacy pages) comes from the #1 downloaded contribution I don't think it is necessary to go too deep into answering the question beyond telling them where to find a similar type page where that they can easily use to create a duplicate of what I have done.  Also Emmett put up the seperate code fix for the Contact Us page for people that use the Contact Us Choice contribution.  Our package tracking went up as a contribution long ago as did the CVV added to the payment processor (although I didn't do the work for that).  The RSS pages (done by Rob123) are custom work but are of no use to anyone except us because they run off a seperate DB on our server and are written specifically for our news service.

 

If there is anything specific people want to know all they have to do is ask and I will do my best to point them in the right direction.  There is nothing in the site that needs to be hiden.

 

Peter

 

 

 

Regardless, it still certainly doesnt feel out-of-box to me! :) Not a typical osC shopping experience for the customer, for sure.

Carpe Carp: Seize the Fish.

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Peter,

 

I agree 100% with you, as I said, surely it can't have been removed because he wont release code  :blink:  if it was, then maybe I wont put a "my store" thread up because somebody might ask me how I did something and they don?t get an answer..

 

If I asked you to supply me with your code for your store would you do it? I know I wouldn?t do it, but would point people in the right direction on how they could do it themselves.

 

To be honest, I am very surprised that moonlitsun's thread has been removed and would love to know the real reason behind it.

 

P.S. Great site Java  :thumbsup:  I wish you every success with it

 

Cheers

 

Mike

 

Peter, hope you dont mind i'm also off-topic....

 

Mike, let me know when you have an example of the tabs in place to see how you integrated it! ;) Always nice to see how other people have modded code for their own needs.

 

Thx

Carpe Carp: Seize the Fish.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Hi there,

 

Javaroasters was the inspiration for the site I am working on now. I love the layout and the customization! :thumbsup:

 

I would like some help if possible...

 

I have seen many of the osComm. sites with similar layouts but am stumped as to exactly how it's done.

 

I want to have my categories on the main page then the products on the next. What code should be on the index page?

 

http://www.localsonlyskimboards.com

 

Like Java Roasters, I want just the main products lines on the front.

 

I bet it's something really simple that I am overlooking lol.

 

Any help?

 

Feedback so far also appreciated :blush:

Thanks

 

Slater

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Javaroasters was the inspiration for the site I am working on now. I love the layout and the customization!

Thanks

 

I want to have my categories on the main page then the products on the next. What code should be on the index page?

Define Mainpage. It is just text with 3 pictures added to the middle. Define mainpage lets you use HTML on the main page of your site. The other changes are the removal of the New Products and things like that.

 

Feedback so far also appreciated 

Sorry, this my thread. :-"

 

Peter

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Thanks

Define Mainpage.  It is just text with 3 pictures added to the middle.  Define mainpage lets you use HTML on the main page of your site.  The other changes are the removal of the New Products and things like that.

Sorry, this my thread.  :-"

 

Peter

 

Thanks, I'll try that:)

 

Sorry about the feedback thing....

 

Slater

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We made a lot of changes to the info box pages based on suggestions from people in the forum and others outside the forum. We changed the FAQ, About Us, and Coffee Classroom sections. Let me know if the changes make it better/worse/indiferent. We also added our GeoTrust True Business ID to the right colum (now we just have to make it only show on SSL pages) :'(

 

Other things that might not be as noticable are we added H1 and H2 tags to the pages and made them XHTML compliant (I think/hope). We also changed all the links in the site to make them the tep href links.

 

Peter

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  • 2 weeks later...

Very very nice! I love the colours! And I like the products category on the top right of the screen, very original IMO!

 

Elaine

 

I know I have been a little tough on some of the stores here but it is time that everyone can pay me back.  After a lot of work and help our store is now operational.  Any comments, feedback, etc. would be much appreciated.  The store is live so no test orders please.

 

I wanted to give special thanks to YesUdo, AfterDark, Clarity, cyanide, Rob123, the osC team and the many people that have helped me along the way.

 

The site is Java Roasters.

 

Thanks,

 

Peter

"There are only 10 types of people in this world: those who understand binary, and those who don't. "

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Very very nice! I love the colours! And I like the products category on the top right of the screen, very original IMO!

 

Elaine

 

Thanks Elaine, I was about to say that putting the categories in the header is easy but I looked at the code and it is not as easy as it looks (at least for me). It does look very similar to the Currency_DropDown_List_v1_0 - first release code. Let me know if you need anything.

 

Peter

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  • 2 weeks later...

Your site is great Java

easy to navigate . looks neat and tidy unlike mine.. I know what you mean about the pictures now being the same size after veiwing yours. ..your site has a nice layout. not sure about the background colour although it does go with the word coffee as coffee is not pink or blue is it. LOL..just that my eyes are not what they were, I found it a bit hard to read the white text against the mustard color background, but mabye thats just me I havent read anyone else with a problem with it.

like the coffee mugs at the shopping cart. what else can I say no wonder you could pick holes in mine (spelling and grammar apart) i found it quick to get from one page to another . i only went to a couple of pages. but then thats all i needed to see, seing as i wasn't ordering anything.

Well done

chris

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One thing I always notice is the default OSC font of the top navigation bar. Maybe you could change that to look like the font on your buttons?

 

Fantastic looking site.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

NOTE: As of Oct 2006, I'm not as active in this forum as I used to be, but I still work with osC quite a bit.

If you have a question about any of my posts here, your best bet is to contact me though either Email or PM in my profile, and I'll be happy to help.

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Avondon

found it a bit hard to read the white text against the mustard color background, but mabye thats just me I havent read anyone else with a problem with it.

You are not the only one who has brought up that point. I keep testing changes offline, but I haven't changed anything online yet. It is on the To Do list. People seem to like the font the best (looked at 8 different ones on a test site) but generally they said the main font should be either black or 1 size larger. The debate continues.

 

easy to navigate . looks neat and tidy unlike mine..

Thanks, those where qualities we were going for although it seems to be getting more crowded now. Yours will get there.

 

Wisardsandwars

One thing I always notice is the default OSC font of the top navigation bar. Maybe you could change that to look like the font on your buttons?

Hmmm...... The font on the buttons is Breman and I am not sure that everyone would have that in their browser. I will make sure it matches the fonts for the text but I think using Breman for it I would just be asking for trouble. I haven't done any stylesheet changes for the site since it was first done, there are a few coming based on suggestions people but nothing is finallized yet.

 

The current projects are we are working on our adjusting the pricing for the coffee and shipping, also adding the $US to the site. We got our 8th new customer order from the site yesterday but all are from Canada which only accounts for about 10% of the visitors to the site, 80% are from the USA and no sales from there.

After those are done I want to go back and work on news feeds for a bit and directory submissions. Also a few ideas from Chemo to finish off and integrate some work that Yesudo is working on now. After that I will work on all the smaller projects that I want to get done and several hundred from the suggestions that people have given us.

 

All input is greatly appreciated. Many thanks. Peter

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  • 2 weeks later...

Good looking site. Nice SEO work too I might add.

 

1 thing that I believe should be fixed asap is your product info page.

 

I suggest a "continue shopping" or "continue" between "reviews" and "add to cart"

 

Also as far as Seo a thing I just did with my site was to remove the index.php from "continue buttons and the breadcrumb;

 

ie when you are on;

 

http://www.javaroasters.com/rss_reader_coffee.php

 

and click "continue" it takes you to

 

http://www.javaroasters.com/index.php

 

whereas with your seo url structure you may want it to all point to

 

http://www.javaroasters.com/

 

You might notice on ocassion a pagerank on a site your looking at disappear as soon as your on the /index.php because it looks like a different page to some search engines. I'd suggest if your mainstite is http://www.javaroasters.com your breadcrumb and all pages should compliment this.

 

If this makes sense.

 

Warning! Fix this! Spiders rely on header tags.! Maybe my browser is off?

 

<h1>A medium roasted coffee bean, our Aztec Blend offers a delightfully smooth flavor with an enticing and distinct aroma.  Premium coffee beans from Mexico are carefully blended to produce a charming and relaxed coffee, spicy, slightly sweet and low in acidity.

<br>

<b>$9.00/lb. Cdn.</b>

<br><br>

<table cellSpacing=1 cellPadding=2 width="80%" border=0>

<tbody>

<tr>

<td class="main">Acidity</td>

<td class="main"><img alt="" hspace=0 src="images/stars_4.gif" align=baseline border=0></td>

<td class="main">Body</td>

<td class="main"><img alt="" hspace=0 src="images/stars_4.gif" align=baseline

 

border=0></td></tr>

<tr>

<td class="main">Aroma</td>

 

<td class="main"><img alt="" hspace=0 src="images/stars_4.gif" align=baseline border=0></td>

<td class="main">Complexity</td>

<td class="main"><img alt="" hspace=0 src="images/stars_4.gif" align=baseline border=0>

 

<tr>

<td class="main"><br></td>

<td class="main"></td>

<td class="main"></td>

<td class="main"></td></tr>

<tr>

<td class="main">Blend</td>

 

<td class="main">Medium</td>

<td class="main"><img alt="" hspace=0 src="images/stars_3.gif" align=baseline border=0></td>

 

<td class="main"></td></tr>

<tr>

<td class="main"></td>

 

<td class="main"></td>

<td class="main"></td>

<td class="main"></td></tr>

<tr>

<td class="main"></td>

 

<td class="main"></td>

<td class="main"></td>

<td class="main"></td></tr></tbody></table></h1>

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misterbling

 

I suggest a "continue shopping" or "continue" between "reviews" and "add to cart"

Great idea, I am working on this one.

 

Also as far as Seo a thing I just did with my site was to remove the index.php from "continue buttons and the breadcrumb;

Done offline, it will be uploaded in the next version.

 

Warning! Fix this! Spiders rely on header tags.! Maybe my browser is off?

It is not your browser, it is my coding skills :blush: I will get that fixed also.

 

Thanks for the great suggestions, much appreciated.

 

Peter

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Hi Peter,

 

a very cute site. Like all the mods and the design.

 

Two minor things on your product pages ...

- the options would look better if you'd define a width for the dropdowns and keep them all the same length (of course the size must match the longest option used in all areas) ... you have plenty of space to the right to work with

- the text for the option name is not aligned in the middle, while the text for quantity is

 

Like I said no big deal but a perfect design deserves perfect programming ...

 

:-)

Monika

:-)

Monika

 

addicted to writing code ... can't get enough of databases either, LOL!

 

my toolbox: Textpad - Compare and Merge - phpMyAdmin - WS_FTP - Photoshop - How to search the forum

 

Interactive Media Award July 2007 ~ category E-Commerce

my advice on the forum is for free, PMs where you send me work are considered consultation which I charge for ...

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misterbling

 

I figured out how to make the changes to index.php that you suggested and I hope you don't mind but I put them up in the Tips And Tricks section.

 

Remove index.php when browsing back to main page

 

Thanks for the suggestion. I have always wondered about that. :thumbsup:

 

I am working on the rest of the suggestions.

 

Monika in Germany

 

Thanks for the tips, I made a half a%$ed fix for the attribute length and will work on making it better when I can sit down and figure out how to do it. All I got was a bunch of parse errors. :(

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misterbling

 

I figured out how to make the changes to index.php that you suggested and I hope you don't mind but I put them up in the Tips And Tricks section.

 

Remove index.php when browsing back to main page

 

Thanks for the suggestion.  I have always wondered about that.  :thumbsup:

 

I am working on the rest of the suggestions.

 

Monika in Germany

 

Thanks for the tips, I made a half a%$ed fix for the attribute length and will work on making it better when I can sit down and figure out how to do it.  All I got was a bunch of parse errors.  :(

 

Peter,

 

view mine ... http://www.painted4kids.com/product_info.php?products_id=50

 

If you like them here is the code, you'll need to adjust a table to fit your width wishes, probably with 3 table cells for you (last one empty):

 

            <tr>
             <td class="fieldKey" width="38%"><?php echo $products_options_name['products_options_name']; ?></td>
             <td class="main" width="62%"><?php echo tep_draw_pull_down_menu('id[' . $products_options_name['products_options_id'] . ']', $products_options_array, $selected_attribute, 'style="width: 100%"'); ?></td>
           </tr>

 

:-)

Monika

:-)

Monika

 

addicted to writing code ... can't get enough of databases either, LOL!

 

my toolbox: Textpad - Compare and Merge - phpMyAdmin - WS_FTP - Photoshop - How to search the forum

 

Interactive Media Award July 2007 ~ category E-Commerce

my advice on the forum is for free, PMs where you send me work are considered consultation which I charge for ...

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Hi, I love the site! A few things I noticed:

 

Love how you do the policies in Q&A form, it makes them a lot more readable. I noticed a few things when reading through them though:

 

privacy1.php: the sentance is a little long to swallow:

Cookies are alphanumeric identifiers that we transfer to your computers hard drive through your Web browser to enable our systems to recognize your browser and to provide features such as automatic login and permanent shopping carts for storage of items in your Shopping Cart between visits.

 

privacy3.php: small typo:

Java Roasterss

same page: you reference a list of stuff I can change, but I see no list:

Java Roasterss gives you access to the following information about you for the limited purpose of viewing and, in certain cases, updating that information. This list will change as our Web site evolves.

 

about_us.php: if I drank coffee, I would probably love to be the tester mentioned here:

We test our products daily to ensure that we only ship coffee that meets our highest standards.
:P

same page: IMO could use an image or two, maybe a picture of your building (if it looks nice ;) ) or picture of the java roasters employees or something. Pictures are a good thing for about us pages.. (hmm need to do that for my site..)

 

I can tell you put a LOT of time into the website, and it has paid off :)

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Monika

 

If you like them here is the code, you'll need to adjust a table to fit your width wishes, probably with 3 table cells for you (last one empty):

 

Thank you, this is done but I have to be careful not to break another function there also.

 

 

jonyo

 

Thank you for the suggestions, I can't believe I still had a typo :blush: , I really thought I had gotten them all. Just goes to show you can never be too careful.

 

We don't have a storefront, just an industial unit which is not that pretty or exciting from the outside so I have not put up pictures for that reason. We have the links to our customers web sites from the About Us page and they look much better than our factory unit.

 

 

Thanks for the suggestions everyone, they are all appreciated.

 

PS. We changed the font colours and sizes yesterday so any feedback on that aspect is appreciated.

 

Peter

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  • 2 weeks later...

Looks good.

 

As far as further SEO I think the alt text should be spiced up a bit ie;

 

The image ?http://www.javaroasters.com/images/infobox/corner_right_left.gif? cannot be displayed, because it contains errors.

 

Should be more of a;

 

java image 1

 

the "image 1" is to not get kicked for spamming. Also don't use on transparent gifs.

 

Spiders are blind and won't appreciate your clean looking storefront, alt tags are key.

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  • 1 month later...

i went on the site and have to say i like it - almost 7.5 out of 10 (with all due respect)

 

it looks better in 800x600 and not too good in 1024x768 as there is too much space on the outer sides of both columns left and right.

 

some pages look nothing like stock oscommerce (good thing) and some well they look oscommerce don't they.

 

however you have made clever use of the column left and the layout is definately nice. infact, the colour sooooo suits the products for sale it actually makes me want to buy a sachet or two of your de-caff! unfortunately from your dropdown box customers can only select canada or the usa (me in London, UK) :-)

 

by the way, this page does not lead on to checkout_payment.php, the connection is broke:

 

https://www.javaroasters.com/checkout_shipping.php

 

good luck with all the mods

Upon receiving fixes and advice, too many people don't bother to post updates informing the forum of how it went. Until of course they need help again on other issues and they come running back!

 

Why receive the information you require in good faith for free, only to then have the attitude to ignore the people who gave it to you?

 

There's no harm in saying, 'Thanks, it worked'. On the contrary, it creates a better atmosphere.

 

CHOOCH

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it looks better in 800x600 and not too good in 1024x768 as there is too much space on the outer sides of both columns left and right.

 

Version 2 of the web site might change that but for now it has to stay the way it is, the header is only 760 wide so any change would mess that up.

 

however you have made clever use of the column left and the layout is definately nice. infact, the colour sooooo suits the products for sale it actually makes me want to buy a sachet or two of your de-caff! unfortunately from your dropdown box customers can only select canada or the usa (me in London, UK) :-)

 

The layout just removed the left column, it is easy to do. Also took out all the boxes that were not absolutely important to the function of the site. The colours were the designers choice, great job on his part. We only sell to Canada and USA because the shipping cost are too high for other parts of the world.

 

by the way, this page does not lead on to checkout_payment.php, the connection is broke:

 

https://www.javaroasters.com/checkout_shipping.php

 

I tested and it worked for me and the code is good, it still links to the correct page. Can you elaborate on how it was broken and where you went to.

 

Thanks for the feedback, always appreciated and welcome.

 

Peter

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it looks better in 800x600 and not too good in 1024x768 as there is too much space on the outer sides of both columns left and right.

 

Version 2 of the web site might change that but for now it has to stay the way it is, the header is only 760 wide so any change would mess that up.

 

This is one that has been troubling me, I generally prefer dynamic widths esp. as my web development lecturer was passionately against things like (at the time) 'best viewed at 800x600' or 'best viewed in internet explorer' and crap like that. But ecommerce sites make this problematic, I look at my site on my computer and it looks fine, on another the page doesn't fit and on some of the super high res large screen monitors that some can afford it looks spreadeagled and streched!.

 

I've noticed some of the BIG companies using a left aligned layout which expands up to a point.

 

Anyway, i'm sure i had a point to make but i've forgotten it now. sorry!

Light, in the absence of eyes, illuminates nothing.

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Hi Beer Monster,

 

I am not sure I got the point of that either. I agree that saying such as "Best Viewed in 800 x 600" are horrible things to put on your site. I haven't played around with the width to much so it is hard for me to say what is the best but I am looking at a wide screen laptop and it does look funny on that page. I guess what you could do is make the page width 95% and then have the content area a fixed width. That would keep everything on your pages looking consistent but leave a bigger area around your text on wider screens. That might be better than having the extra space outside the screen. I will have to play with it some and try things out.

 

Peter

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I like it alot, but the only thing that jumps out at me are the review stars used in the product descriptions. They look like osC stock reviews gifs, and the colors just don't fit with your color scheme IMO.

 

Other than that, looks great.

My advice comes in two flavors- Pick the one that won't offend you.

 

Hard and Cynical: How to Make a Horrible osCommerce Site

 

Warm and Fuzzy: How to Make an Awesome osCommerce Site

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