Integrating Google Analytics

To see the full discussion on Google Analytics into BVCommerce 5 and to receive the files, please visit: http://forums.bvcommerce.com/default.aspx?f=79&m=42170&g=46508#m46508

After installing the code, we were recieving security messages during the checkout. This occurs because the Google Analytics code uses a standard http connection instead of https. The simplest fix we found was introduced by Promotion Sickness. Instead of using the standard http://www.google-analytics.com/urchin.js to connect to Google, simply change this link to https://ssl.google-analytics.com/urchin.js in your themes Default.master page.

My product modifiers aren't recalculating the total

Ok, this was probably my fault. We had added several product modifiers. We wanted to add items to this product that were options. These options added extra costs, and weight. When we went to test it on the site, the calculations weren't showing up. Thanks to Justin at BV Commerce we figured it out.

Our specific find was found because the Your price did not change on the product detail page.

We had upgraded from BV5 sp1 to sp2 V3. When we did this for some reason, the new anthem.dll did not pass through. If this happens to you, simply copy the new anthem.dll to your bin directory and all will work.

How come I can't remove product upsells

Here's some background. I went to my website and looked at one of my products. I saw "Customers who purchased this item also purchased these items:" Ok, I thought, this doesn't belong here. So, I went in to the administrator, and looked at this product. I went to look at product upsells and cross sells. Guess what I found, nothing. Don't be alarmed.

Here's what's happening. BV Commerce 5 implements something called suggested items. Suggested items are items that are ordered more often. You don't have control over this, as it's automatic.

If you don't want it to show up, here's what you do.

• Log into the admin
• Click on the Options tab
• On the left hand navigation, click on Performance
• Set "Suggested Items Maximum Results" to 0
• Click Save Changes

How do I change my shipping options

Ths shipping options are very important. Make sure you check these before you launch. Make sure you're not losing any money.

• Log in as the administrator
• Click on the options tab
• Then click on Shipping

I can't save my product

Saving a product depends on what information you have entered. The most common problem we have found is because of the SKU. Make sure the SKU does not have any special characters or spaces. Make this quick change and you should be fine. But, don't forget to make your SKU search engine friendly!

When I click on a link to my product, the page crashes

This happens every once in a while. The problem here is probably the name of the product. Check for any special characters that are in the name. It is also possible that your product name is too long.

BV Commerce 5 Website Launch

TheSmartFarmer.com launched their new BV Commerce 5 website. We're proud to be one of the first to launch.

TheSmartFarmer.com was originally built with effortlesse software. As theSmartFarmer.com grew, they needed a more robust solution. If you're looking to switch hosting from another ecommerce solution, BV Commerce may be your solution.

How to test your newsletter before you send it (BV5)

(Revised for BV Commerce 5)
I'm not sure about you, but before I send an email to several thousand people, I'm a little nervous. So, I always double and triple check. Here is a quick way to test it out.

Overview

We are going to create a test email list and send an email.

Creating a new list

• Log in to the administrator
• Click on the People tab
• Click on Mailing Lists in the sub navigation
• Here you will see the page with all of your email campaigns.
• At the top you can add new lists. In the bottom section, you can click to edit or send your existing emails.
• Since we are creating a testing account, let's set up a new account.
• Click on the New button on the right. This will open up the details page for your email list.
• In the name box, enter something easy like Test Email List.
• Put a check in the box labled "Private". This will prevent any customers from seeing the list.
• Now, we have to add a member to the list. Click on the "New" button and enter your first name, last name, and email on the next screen
• Hit the "Save Changes" button, this will take you back to the Mailing list page.
• Next we'll see how to test.
  

Sending the Email

• On this screen, you should now see your new mailing list.
• Click on the "Send Email" link
• Choose your template.
• Click the "Preview" button just to make sure you have the correct email.
• Click the "Ok" button to send your email to your new test account.
  

That's it.

How to create an email template for your email campaigns

Now that we know how to find the email campaigns (see post http://bvcommerce.blogspot.com/2007/04/how-to-edit-your-emails.html) we can create an email template for any emails, newsletters, etc.

Here, we're going to take the simple route. A lot of clients do not have the ability to put together custom code. So, what I'm suggesting here is to use Microsoft Word. It's not the best solution, but for almost everyone out there it is a quick solution.

We'll take this in 2 steps, namely:

• Creating your email
• Adding an email template

Creating your email

1. Open Microsoft Word
2. Create your email in your new word document. Don't use graphics for now.
3. Click File Save As Web Page
4. A new window will pop up.
5. Name your new file.
6. In the box below the file name is the Save As box. Choose "Web Page (*.htm, *.html)
7. Click on the Save button.
8. If you receive a message that says something to the order of, "This will remove Microsoft Word tags" click ok.
9. Now, you have created an HTML page. This is how you can send your email.
10. Ok, to get the code, click on View HTML Source. This may open up a new window.
11. Copy all of the code in the window. We will use this to copy into our email.

How to create an email template

1. Log into the administrator account.
2. Click on Content Email Templates
3. Click the "New" button
4. Type in a Name (how you will refer to the template), From (your email address), and Subject (What this email is about)
5. Copy all of the code from our Word document into the top box titled "HTML Body"
6. Click the Save button.

That's it. Now, this only creates a simple email template. But, you're well on your way. If you want to add images, I would suggest some type of HTML tool such as Dreamweaver or FrontPage. Otherwise, you will have to learn a little code.

How to edit your emails

BV Commerce allows you to create as many email templates as you wish. So, if you are going to use BV Commerce to send out your newsletters, updates, etc. it's a good solution.

How to see your email templates

1. Log in to the site as the administrator
2. Click on the "Content" tab
3. Click on "Email Templates"
4. Here you will see a list of all your email templates
5. To edit an email template, simply click on the "Edit" link beside your email

Making money while cruising the internet

Ok, I've seen this before. A couple of years back, All Advantage did this and we all received small checks in the mail. Another company has started doing it again Agolco. Agolco has set up the same scenario. What you do is sign up, download a toolbar, and then go to work as normal. Each time you view pages, etc, click on advertisements through the toolbar, you receive money. It won't be a lot, but, hey it's free. I'm trying it out. I mean after all, my entire day is on the internet. If you are curious and want to try it out, please visit Agolco here.

Personalized themes for customers

A lot of time is spent making sure your site looks good. Sometimes, there are so many changes that all of the themes may not work. So, you don't want your customer to see your site the wrong way.

All customers can change their themes in the My Account area. If you want to make sure your clients can't change the theme, please follow these steps.

1. Log into the administrator
2. Click on the Options tab
3. Click on the General option found in the left hand navigation.
4. Look for the option at the bottom stating "Allow Personalized Themes". Uncheck this box and click the save button.

PDF Downloads

For those of you that sell pdf's online, BVCommerce is an exellent solution. We did run into one issue in that when we tried to view the pdf's online, it was showing a document error, specifically: There was a problem reading this document (14)

BVCommerce helped us work through this. This was a custom fix, I'm not sure when the rest of the users will have this information. If you are in need of help please let us know.

We ran into the situation because a client actually didn't sell pdf's. But, they wanted to allow their customer to download pdfs with product specifications. So, we took the same look and feel and added it for every product.

Paypal Websites Payment Pro

Paypal Websites Payment Pro integrates seamlessly with BV Commerce 5. We just launched TheSmartFarmer.com using the system.

When you are integrating it, follow the instructions here:
http://www.bvsoftware.com/bvcommerce5manual/How%20To's/PayPalExpress.aspx

We also ran into one other issue before launching. We were seeing the following error:
Authorize Error: Paypal Express Payment Authorization Failed.10002:Security header is not valid

We found out this was because we did not have SSL turned on. Also, there must be an SSL certificate installed for this to work.