We don't just build websites, we build businesses …
Internet Solutions for Small Business
Specializing in Open Source including
osCommerce and WordPress
Specializing in Open Source including
osCommerce and WordPress
ozEworks develops and supports eCommerce websites.
New sites
New designs
Site upgrades
Add On installation
Custom module development.
We use:
osCommerce
ozEcommerce(our loaded version of osCommerce)
WordPress WP eCommerce
depending on what best suits your needs.
We developed Sam Edleman’s new site using WordPress.
We have released ozEcommerce, our loaded version of osCommerce
We developed a highly customized site for Splits59 including Advanced Image Management and Streamlined Checkout …
We customized SinCigars to allow for a product specific user interface allowing cigar aficionados to shop by multiple paths.
Website development is not just about coding. Programmers are the last people to get involved! Like any serious undertaking you need to plan it and the most important part of that plan is defining what outcome you want and what needs to be done to achieve it. We call it analysing your requirements. We look at the big picture – your business – before we start talking about the little picture – your site …
Pretty as a picture right? Has to be flashier than the competition? Sure? What your site looks like is important – very important – it decides whether first time visitors stay. But how easy it is to use for your visitors is the most important factor as it decides if they become customers. And what tools it has for getting that customer to return determines if they become repeat customers…
Websites are easy things to develop. I mean kids can do it. You just download osCommerce, change a few graphics and there you have it – a new online store! Just add water and stir kind of thing. A bit like the Eva Gabor/Green Acres approach to cooking. Sure kids can cook. I don’t know about you but I’d rather sit down to a meal prepared by a qualified chef …
You know what your website should do – you told your developers. So they should test it, not you! Right? Actually no. Wrong. Developers can test programs, only users can truly a site. Just like proof-reading your own writing, it is impossible for a programmer to fully test her own code. That is why there are several levels of test: program, site and user testing.
Going live is just the beginning, not the end. Websites are not set and forget. Things are always changing. Bugs are found. Security patches are needed. New versions are released. Hosting environments change. Not to mention customer expectations about new or improved functionality. Website owners who keep their sites “fresh” keep their customers.
If you do business in Europe or the UK, you need to be aware of changing laws on cookie usage. You might use cookies to manage the shopping cart or for tracking purposes. No matter why, in early 2012 you might be required to explicitly ask permission to place a cookie on a customer’s PC …
Noticed FedEx Ground shipping seems to have disappeared on your osCommerce site? You are not alone. More and more customers are reporting that ground shipping is no longer being offered by FedEx API that the standard osCommerce FedEx Add On uses. While FedEx have announced this API is redundant as at 31 May 2012, it seems like the current one is broken so you need to upgrade now.
The new Google Merchant Center changes go into effect tomorrow night. If you have not updated your feed to handle the new requirements then you might find your feed suspended. Google has already started suspending feeds so the matter is quite urgent if you rely on them for any business.
Notice the star ratings against your competition’s PPC Ads? If you worry they attract customers then you should. They do. But it’s easy to get into the feedback game and gain your own set of stars.
UPS has been down now since around 3:30 PM EST. Apparently it has been hit by Turkish hackers. It is one of multiple sites that apparently have been hit.
We’ve gotten a few questions lately that relate to the scalability of osCommerce. Basically people want to know if they have a lot of products or get a lot of orders, will osCommerce cope with the load? Quick answer is yes.
New York is under threat of a hurricane on Sunday 28 August 2011. In the event the city loses power, ozEworks will be closed until power is restored. Anyone with urgent hosting issues should contact HostDime directly.
A common piece of code called timthumb.php has a security issue. If your site uses it you need to upgrade it.
Worried about PCI Compliance Scans? osCommerce 3.0 clears all security metrics requirements for PCI compliance.
ozEworks Server 2 is currently experiencing issues and all sites on that server will be effectively “down” while the matter is being resolved. We will update this post with more information when we have it.
