Category Archives: Blog

Phasing Out of Amazon Webstore Platform

According to this article from Internet Retailer, Amazon has begun notifying customers of the phasing out of Amazon Webstore by 2016. From the launch announcement of Amazon Webstore, it is “a full-featured e-commerce product that enables small- to medium-sized retailers and manufacturers to quickly design, build and manage their multichannel e-commerce businesses using Amazon’s technology.” This follows the somewhat recent notification from Magento regarding the discontinuation of the MagentoGo platform.

Along these lines, if you are currently utilizing the Amazon Webstore as an e-commerce platform or if you had been planning to utilize the platform in the near future, there are other alternatives available. We support conversions to X-Cart, BigCommerce, and Magento. Contact us for a free quote on your e-commerce conversion needs!

This entry was posted in Bigcommerce, Blog, Ecommerce, Magento, X-Cart on by .

30 Year Anniversary of .com

This past Sunday was the 30th anniversary of a momentous event in the history of the Internet – the registration of the first .com domain. It seems hard to imagine something as pervasive as the Internet has only been around for 30 years. While I am able to remember how things were before the World Wide Web became a constant part of my life, there are people younger than me who have lived their entire lives with it. As such, I am sure some people are unable to imagine life without the Internet.

This article from CBS News goes into a little more detail about the history of the dot com domain.

I also found the following timeline from Verisign (which is included in the CBS article) extremely interesting. For example, I didn’t know that Amazon has been around since 1994 – shortly after the advent of the World Wide Web. This timeline is full of similarly interesting facts.

This entry was posted in Around the Office, Blog, Ecommerce, Events on by .

Google to Begin Considering Sites’ Mobile-Friendliness in Search Rankings

In a response to the current trends in e-commerce, Google is soon to begin weighing sites’ “mobile-friendliness” as part of its algorithm for search rankings. Google’s official release can be read here. With people spending an increasing amount of time on their mobile devices, as well as the increase in the number of people using mobile for shopping – particularly at top e-commerce retailers, this shift by Google is just a mirroring of these trends.

The official date for this shift in search-ranking algorithm to commence is April 21st. The delay in this is to allow sites to prepare for this change. Along these lines, if you currently do not have a mobile or responsive site and are looking to make these changes, contact us for a free quote to evaluate your project. If you are looking for a “quick fix”, our Mobile Mod for X-Cart can definitely help. Now is definitely the time to make this leap as opposed to waiting until after the change!

This entry was posted in Blog, Ecommerce, X-Cart on by .

What Color Is this Dress – The Importance of Quality Pictures on Your Website

So, it is likely that you have seen the following image making the rounds on the internet:

We discussed this briefly around the office and there were varying opinions. However, there is one thing that we took away as a lesson from all of this – the importance of quality pictures. If the lighting in your picture allows people to see your subject in different colors, then this is probably not an ideal picture. This can obviously be an issue for online retailers. As the only representation an online customer has of your product comes from whatever image is uploaded, it is crucial to get this right.

To this end, we would like to mention our Mobile Admin Module for X-Cart. Among other things, this module allows you to upload pictures from your phone or tablet for your X-Cart store. You will just want to make sure that your pictures are better than the one of the dress in this article.

If you are curious about the science behind why the dress is perceived in different colors, this Wired article helps explain the phenomenon.

This entry was posted in Around the Office, Blog, X-Cart on by .

Corvettestoreonline.com

Check out our most recent X-Cart website & shopping cart overhaul for our client John Huffman at Corvettestoreonline.com. We were contacted to upgrade the site and implement a more responsive skin. The finished product is super and provides more functionality and responsiveness. We also made this site mobile while keeping the key features, as well as the look and feel, consistent with the new site. We’ve already had some customer interest in this skin and functionality in the form of requests to replicate this skin for other sites. We believe that imitation is the best form of flattery, so we take this as another testimony to the work completed on the site!

“I found the team @ BCS Engineering to be the best possible fit when transitioning to or

within the X-Cart platform. With more than 10 years of experience, they work

well together in helping their clients achieve their often changing goals

and little details. As a satisfied client, I can highly recommend BCS

Engineering.” – John Huffman, Corvettestoreonline.com

Contact us for help with your site. Whether it’s an upgrade, a change to the look and feel, or getting your site mobile for easier searching, we’ve got you covered!

This screenshot of the new site homepage includes scrolling images and more robust drop-down menus for easier site navigation:

CorvetteStoreBlogPic1

Compared to this screenshot of the homepage of the old site, which lacked the dynamic feel that the new site provides:

CorvetteStoreBlogPic2
Contact BCS Engineering for a free quote to help you get the site that you’ve been wanting!
This entry was posted in Blog, Featured Client on by .

Ways to Utilize Psychological Principles on Pricing Pages

Pricing pages are often the most important aspect of a company’s website. Due to this, it is important to make this page as effective as possible. Once again, if we look to how people process information and emotions, we can find little ways to steer customers to the optimally-desired result. This Entrepreneur article provides several tips along these lines.

The most important of these – and one we have seen before in other website suggestions – is to provide less information, not more. Giving people too much information can lead to the customer thinking too much about a purchasing decision instead of acting on emotional triggers. This does not mean, “do not provide any information at all”, but to only provide the most important information. However, if customers want more information, this can be handled either through a “See More Features” link option or some similar means.

The full article lists a few more helpful tips regarding pricing pages and psychological triggers. To read the article, click here.

This entry was posted in Blog, Ecommerce on by .

Magento Go End-of-Life Reminder

As a reminder, in less than three weeks (February 1st), Magento Go and ProStores are shutting down. At this time:

  • All merchants’ stores on these platforms will be closed
  • Merchants will lose access to store and customer data
  • Merchants will lose access to store content and images
  • Customer support for both of these platforms will be shut down

One of the options suggested by Magento as an alternative, Bigcommerce, is offering discounted services to clients moving from Magento Go and ProStores, including:

  • Free migration
  • First month free
  • Advanced eBay integration through ChannelUnity with no monthly fee and just 1% commission

Click the following link to get started: http://bcse.bigcommerce.com

This entry was posted in Bigcommerce, Blog, Ecommerce, Magento on by .

Achievable Habit Changes for the New Year

It is said that New Year’s resolutions have a success rate of around 12%. So, does this mean that you should not set goals for improvement for the New Year? I would say that it is more important to set achievable goals and build from those once you have comfortably established these goals as habits. A couple of items from this FastCompany.com article I find very important for myself – and they do not require much work. The important thing is to not make excuses to avoid or ignore the task related to your goal.

Exercising for 20 minutes a day is something everyone can do with little difficulty. Once again, it is important to set your initial 20-minute routine as achievable. As soon as this routine is established as habit, look to either increase the difficulty of your routine or the length as you see fit.

Another important item is waking up an hour or two early each day. It is a lot easier to cope with the day and the tasks ahead of you, if you have had some extra time to adjust each morning. Most people just rush into their day without this additional focus (and often without enough sleep) which would likely improve their overall productivity and happiness.

While these two items are the achievable habits that I find beneficial, read the full article to see which ones might be right for you.

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Tips on How to Create Structure

Having good structure in your workplace is extremely important in fostering efficiency and overall productivity. While it might be tempting to cater to the scheduling needs of your employees, it is important to keep in mind what is best for your business. Oftentimes there is a happy medium that can be utilized to keep the needs of both groups in mind. The article linked to below is largely targeted to either “virtual” organizations or remote workforces. However, all of the points suggested are important for the efficient operation of any organization or business. Read more here:

http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/241087

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