appleguru Posted January 2, 2006 Share Posted January 2, 2006 I've been live for over a month now, but I just moved to a new server (with php5) so I could finally have my own IP and use SSL. Next step is a merchant account so I can ditch paypal and start selling modchips again :D It's fairly customized under the hood (box drop shadows, thumbnail creator, custom order edition, purchase without account, order editor, disable categories mod.. and likely some more I've forgotten), though it looks pretty stock on the outside. Any comments/suggestions on the layout/design/functionality/SSL/Product Selection/etc would be much appreciated! Thanks! My Store -Adam Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
♥Vger Posted January 2, 2006 Share Posted January 2, 2006 Although it's fairly stock it doesn't look bad on first sight. Your site does have a few problems: 1. The table structure is haywire on the login.php page 2. Your SSL cert is being devalued by the 'secure/insecure' warnings on every https page - and this is all down to the Google Ads at the bottom of your right column. Customers just see the warning, think the site isn't secure, and go elsewhere. 3. Your Privacy and Conditions Of Use pages wouldn't inspire me with confidence if I was a potential customer - so I'd suggest you beef them up a little. Vger Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
appleguru Posted January 3, 2006 Author Share Posted January 3, 2006 Thanks for the feedback.. trying to fix the mixed security issues atm... I'm trying to get it so it only shows ads with non-secure page requests... this works fine with the firefox infobox on the right, but I can't get it to work with the google ads in the footer. I'm trying to do this: <?php if ($request_type != 'SSL') { echo FOOTER_GOOGLE } ?> ...but it doesn't seem to like the if ($request_type != 'SSL') here (even though it works fine in the sidebar... odd). Any suggestions? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
appleguru Posted January 3, 2006 Author Share Posted January 3, 2006 BTW, I'm trying to make this addition to the footer.php file... $request_type is set in the the application_top.php ( $request_type = (getenv('HTTPS') == 'on') ? 'SSL' : 'NONSSL'; ) file and seems to pass fine for when the code I added in the column_right.php file checks it... But when the code I added in the footer.php file checks it.. it doesn't seem to work at all (unless my syntax is fubard or something...) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
appleguru Posted January 3, 2006 Author Share Posted January 3, 2006 Ok, now I'm throughly confused. If I echo $request_type, it outputs just fine to the page (SSL or NONSSL). and echo FOOTER_GOOGLE works perfectly too.. so it must be my if statement?! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
appleguru Posted January 3, 2006 Author Share Posted January 3, 2006 Doh! Was missing a semicolon :P Well, the mixed ssl issues should be fixed now :) <?php if ($request_type != 'SSL') { echo FOOTER_GOOGLE; } ?> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
appleguru Posted January 3, 2006 Author Share Posted January 3, 2006 Although it's fairly stock it doesn't look bad on first sight. Your site does have a few problems:1. The table structure is haywire on the login.php page 2. Your SSL cert is being devalued by the 'secure/insecure' warnings on every https page - and this is all down to the Google Ads at the bottom of your right column. Customers just see the warning, think the site isn't secure, and go elsewhere. 3. Your Privacy and Conditions Of Use pages wouldn't inspire me with confidence if I was a potential customer - so I'd suggest you beef them up a little. Vger Ok, now that #2 is taken care of... What exactly do you mean by # 1? (and.. how can I fix it?) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
♥MYC267 Posted January 3, 2006 Share Posted January 3, 2006 I agree the terms and conditions and privacy statement need a lot of work. You would actually be surprised how many potential customers look at them. Being a site related to gaming I really expected a lot more as far as wow factor goes... gamers need to be impressed and for me the colours and layout just dont do it for me. Do you really need the Firefox infobox? and the adwords? Dan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
running wolf Posted January 3, 2006 Share Posted January 3, 2006 "top" and "catalog" pages are the same, kinda confusing. Somewhere I read it would be better to do away with the "top" or give it a totally different look. Kristine Running Wolf Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
appleguru Posted January 3, 2006 Author Share Posted January 3, 2006 I agree the terms and conditions and privacy statement need a lot of work. You would actually be surprised how many potential customers look at them. Being a site related to gaming I really expected a lot more as far as wow factor goes... gamers need to be impressed and for me the colours and layout just dont do it for me. Do you really need the Firefox infobox? and the adwords? I'll work on those pages at some point.. my main goal now is to get my merchant account set up (And.. contrary to popular belief.. I actually have a somewhat decent customer base at the moment :)) As for the google ads, they do bring additional revenue to the site, so.. I like em :P (Though, the firefox box.. not so much.. I think I've had one conversion with that.. heh) And as for the non-impressive layout.. let's just say that it's a lot better than it was.. and that I personally like it (which isn't to say it can't be improved; it can be.. but that's a task for another time)... Main goal now is function moreso than form. "top" and "catalog" pages are the same, kinda confusing.Somewhere I read it would be better to do away with the "top" or give it a totally different look. Huh? ....Thanks for the comments though guys, keep em coming :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
♥MYC267 Posted January 3, 2006 Share Posted January 3, 2006 heh I know what its like to have a merchant account setup... it took me months and a lot of pointless phone calls from different people asking the same questions. Adwords revenue is pittence compared to what you want to be making on the site and to be honest it devalues the site because you are giving up valuable real estate to advertise ofhter sites (competition) for a measly few cents. Its your choice though but driving people away from the site is not really a wise move one would think. Dan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
appleguru Posted January 3, 2006 Author Share Posted January 3, 2006 heh I know what its like to have a merchant account setup... it took me months and a lot of pointless phone calls from different people asking the same questions. Adwords revenue is pittence compared to what you want to be making on the site and to be honest it devalues the site because you are giving up valuable real estate to advertise ofhter sites (competition) for a measly few cents. Its your choice though but driving people away from the site is not really a wise move one would think. Thanks for the insight; I'll likely ditch adwords for the site at some point.. For now though, to see how it looks without the ads, just go to: https://www.otbmods.com ;) And hopefully I'll have my merchant account set up in a day or two; I'm currently applying for an Authorize.net merchant account through cdgcommerce.com.. I'll let you guys know how it goes :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
♥MYC267 Posted January 4, 2006 Share Posted January 4, 2006 Im actually talking a real merchant account where you get a merchant and terminal ID from the bank which you then use someone like verisign as your payment gateway. Dan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
appleguru Posted January 4, 2006 Author Share Posted January 4, 2006 Im actually talking a real merchant account where you get a merchant and terminal ID from the bank which you then use someone like verisign as your payment gateway. I looked at that as an option, but frankly it's just too expensive.. and I gain.. nothing from it. The goal is to directly accept cards on the site, get a virtual terminal (could get a real one, but I never do card-present transactions), and be happy :) Authorize.net has a great reputation as an internet merchant account provider, and if you play your cards right you can get little/no set up fee and very copetitive rates/monthly fees. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
appleguru Posted January 5, 2006 Author Share Posted January 5, 2006 Got my authorize.net account approved; now just need to implement it :) If any one has any suggestions in that regard, please voice them here: http://www.oscommerce.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=188060 Also, changed the infobox background color from almost white to a light blue.. let me know what you guys think :D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
appleguru Posted January 5, 2006 Author Share Posted January 5, 2006 Authorize.net account in place; currently accepting visa/mastercard.. amex and discover to come :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
appleguru Posted January 6, 2006 Author Share Posted January 6, 2006 Alright, I took your suggestion MYC267 and nixed the ads.. Amex is working now too, just waiting on discover :P :-) Any suggestions on where to go visually? I want to do something.. I'm just not sure what yet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
appleguru Posted January 6, 2006 Author Share Posted January 6, 2006 Privacy and conditions pages updated and beefed up... We're making progress! :D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
appleguru Posted January 9, 2006 Author Share Posted January 9, 2006 Ok, put the ads back for the time being. Also ditched the blue infobox background in favor of white with a blue border.. Anyone know how to make it so the best seller table doesn't have the border too? (I tried changing the td class in the best_sellers.php files and adding a new entry to the stylesheet.css, but it didn't seem to have any effect). ...not that the extra borders look all that bad imo :D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jnigro Posted January 17, 2006 Share Posted January 17, 2006 Well I think the site looks great. I have just installed OS Commerce and am in the process of setting it up. I don't necessarily agree that you should have more flashy graphics or a need to "wow" people (not that there is anything wrong with doing that). Simple, to me, is easier to maintain and keeps things efficient which keeps your costs low. I was going to use paypal pro but you mentioned that you are switching to authorize.net. Are there specific reasons why? Is it just because of the type of product you sell? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
appleguru Posted January 17, 2006 Author Share Posted January 17, 2006 Well I think the site looks great. I have just installed OS Commerce and am in the process of setting it up. I don't necessarily agree that you should have more flashy graphics or a need to "wow" people (not that there is anything wrong with doing that). Simple, to me, is easier to maintain and keeps things efficient which keeps your costs low. I was going to use paypal pro but you mentioned that you are switching to authorize.net. Are there specific reasons why? Is it just because of the type of product you sell? Yes, mainly. PayPal's TOS strictly prohibits the sale of modchips, and.. even though the chips I (used to) sell followed the guidelines of they're anti-chip policy.. they still limited my account... 4 times... because of it. In any case, I'm currently using an authorize.net gateway to process visa, mastercard, amex, and discover... that I got through cdgcommerece (a reseller; gave me better rates than auth.net themselves) and couldn't be happier :) Oh, and thanks for the feedback! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
appleguru Posted February 10, 2006 Author Share Posted February 10, 2006 Finally got around to adding SEO URLs and an all products page yesterday.. fiddled with colors a bit more too.. Anyone know how to make the boarder appear everywhere but in the Bestsellers info box? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
♥Monika in Germany Posted February 10, 2006 Share Posted February 10, 2006 Finally got around to adding SEO URLs and an all products page yesterday.. fiddled with colors a bit more too.. Anyone know how to make the boarder appear everywhere but in the Bestsellers info box? Hi Adam, go to your bestsellers box where the infobox is called. Rename that call to say myInfoBox open includes/classes/boxes.php and copy the current infoBox class to the end of the file, right before the closing php tag Here too, rename the class and function name, and set the padding to 0 - that should get rid of the underlying background color (.infoBox from stylesheet) from showing ... :-) 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 ... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
appleguru Posted February 10, 2006 Author Share Posted February 10, 2006 Hi Adam, go to your bestsellers box where the infobox is called. Rename that call to say myInfoBox open includes/classes/boxes.php and copy the current infoBox class to the end of the file, right before the closing php tag Here too, rename the class and function name, and set the padding to 0 - that should get rid of the underlying background color (.infoBox from stylesheet) from showing ... Thank you, will give it a try later today.. Right now I'm having a much bigger problem that seemed to crop up just ysterday.. with SEO URLs on, trying to create an account/ purchase without account throws errors.. with it disabled, the adrress that gets inputted is blank. Help???? :o Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
appleguru Posted February 25, 2006 Author Share Posted February 25, 2006 Still can't figure out the whole SEO URLs dealie :/ Got the info box working tho (no more extra lines! thanks Monika!).. anyideas regarding SEO? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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