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"Internet World reviewed SmartStore.biz: 4 out of 5 Stars!"
Internet World 02/2003
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"Internet magazin reviewed SmartStore.biz: 5 out of 5 Stars!"
Internet magazin 4/2003
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"SmartStore.biz - The Shopsystem which, due to its excellence in Usability and Functionality, has secured the number 1 position"
Ranking: 96%
Internet Professionell 08/02 |
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Could you outdo Amazon with your own online store?
Well, probably not -- but at least SmartStore lets you try
SQL. ODBC. ASP. PHP. All good reasons /not/ to rush into creating your own e-commerce site, unless you've nothing better to do than read thick, expensive manuals for a few months.
SmartStore takes a different approach. Follow its step by step guide and you'll enter the details of your shop, create product categories, add images, define special offers, even publish the site to your web host. None of this requires any HTML, scripting or database knowledge -- just "fill in the blanks".
What's more, SmartStore works by generating plain HTML pages. So you don't have to pay your web host extra for SQL, ASP, PHP or any other server-side technologies. And then spend ages wondering how to configure everything. In fact, your completed store will even run happily on a CD-ROM.
Don't think that "no databases" somehow means that this is a low-end e-commerce solution - it`s packed with opitons and can handle different currencies and tax rates, while delivery charges can be calculated dynamically using a variety of methods (lump sum, price or weight dependent, rate tables and so on).
There are also plenty of supported payment methods, which come split into two sections. There's an option to handle various offline options, like COD, pre-payment and Invoice. And of course there's support for online services like WorldPay, iclear and Saferpay. You can even customise the site by adding support for other payment services (see the documentation for details).
The only real limitation is it can hold details of 100 products, maximum. The Advanced and Professional editions expand on this (see Upgrade To...), if it's a problem for you.
Finding Your Way Around
If you've used a WYSIWYG HTML editor before, then SmartStore will initially seem like a disappointment. All your work here involves typing text into boxes, and filling in tables -- it's hard to imagine how this is going to affect the finished site.
So before you enter a single word of text, click on the "Create Store" toolbar button. SmartStore will produce the HTML pages for its default template, then allow you to view them in its internal browser (basically just an Internet Explorer front end), or any other you might have installed.
As you'll see, even the default pages have already saved you a substantial amount of work. The basic site structure includes a product search tool, order form, "Contact Us" form and more. You may want to have a different look for the site, but don't worry about that now -- there's a variety of different styles available. (Click on the "Designs" toolbar button for a closer look).
Now you've seen what SmartStore can do with no effort at all, it's time to add your own details. There are several ways to navigate around the program, but the simplest is just to use the Folder List.
Expand Setup > Master Data, for instance, and click on "General Data". This presents a table of information about your site, covering details like Company name, address, phone number, and so on. Double-click on each entry in turn, and start filling them in.
Product Manager
After completing the initial forms, it's time to start entering your product data.
Well, not quite. Before you do anything else, it's best to construct any product categories you might need.
Organise your products into groups can make life easier for your customers. A PC store could have a "Peripherals" category, that contained a "Printers" category, then an "Inkjets" category, and finally listed your current stock.
While this sounds good in principle, but don't get carried away. Too many categories can just make life confusing. Fortunately SmartStore is flexible enough to let you place a product in more than one category. Just drag and drop the product from one group to another, keeping the right mouse button held down, then choose "Create Links Here" from the context menu.
Sounds too complicated? That's fine, it's not compulsory to take your store this far. There's no real need to mess around with categories at all, but at least you know they're around if you need them.
Alternatively, you`ll find lots of assistance if you just want to dive right in and see what SmartStore has to offer. This starts with the in-depth application Help (which is actually a file on your hard drive, despite the menu description of "Online Help").
Perhaps best of all, the initial "Store" screen actually includes a list of current topics on the SmartStore support forum (assuming your SmartStore PC has web access). This is a great source of advice, tips and official announcements, so be sure to check it out regularly.
(Quelle: PCPlus 12/2003)
Website: www.pcplus.co.uk
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