We’re currently on Day 2 of the eCommerce Expo and receiving fantastic feedback about StoreFeeder from those we’ve already spoken to. StoreFeeder is multi-channel software written by a company who know the ecommerce market inside and out, and with the help of our existing users we’re continually adding new functionality.

If you’d like a demo just call us on 0115 9738074, if you’re visiting the eCommerce Expo come and find us on stand 114.

Are you a talented ASP.​NET Web Developer looking for a challenging new role?​
Working on both the company and other related sites, you will be devising new concepts, user interaction design and e-commerce.​ It is essential that you possess good ASP.​NET C# skills as well as a good understanding of MS SQL Server.​ Although not essential, knowledge of PHP would be beneficial.​

You will have a good working knowledge of usability and online applications, allowing you to produce high quality resources in collaboration with the design and technical teams.​

We will provide the opportunity to learn new skills and for you to work on exciting new projects.​ You will be based in our Nottingham office, working Mon-Fri 9-5.​

To apply for the role of Web Developer please send your CV with a covering note to jobs@​webcatch.​co.​uk outlining your experience.​

Strictly no agencies!

UPDATE – This position has now been filled, many thanks to all those who applied.

With the increased number of online marketplaces such as eBay, Amazon and shopping comparison sites such as Google Product Search the idea of selling across multiple sales channels has changed the way retailers approach selling online. Now it’s not just about having your own website as a sales channel, but being a successful online retailer means pushing your products onto third party retail services.

Multi-channel selling allows merchants to reach a wider audience with both their products and indeed their brand. Increasing the number of sales channels in turn increases the number of potential sales.

As you can imagine, this increase in avenues comes with an increase in administration. Multi-channel ecommerce software is designed to streamline the process as much as possible and means that merchants can control all of their channels from just one interface. Using this software merchants are able to keep their inventory up to date across all of their channels, upload products to multiple channels with ease, as well as integrate with couriers and other services.

So, what is multi-channel ecommerce? Well, it’s increasing revenue!

Here at WebCatch we’ve developed our very own multi-channel ecommerce software, which I’m sure you’re aware about by now as we’re pretty excited by its capabilities and speak about it at every opportunity we get. If you’d like to find out more about this software, Store Feeder, then get in contact.

Petros will be helping us to develop and support Store Feeder, our multi-channel ecommerce software.

Junior ASP.NET Web Developer

Are you a talented ASP.NET Web Developer looking for a challenging new role?

Working on both the company and other related sites, you will be devising new concepts, user interaction design and e-commerce. It is essential that you possess good ASP.NET C# skills as well as a good understanding of MS SQL Server. Although not essential, knowledge of PHP would be beneficial.

You will have a good working knowledge of usability and online applications, allowing you to produce high quality resources in collaboration with the design and technical teams.

We will provide the opportunity to learn new skills and for you to work on exciting new projects. You will be based in our Nottingham office, working Mon-Fri 9-5.

To apply for the role of Web Developer please send your CV with a covering note to jobs@webcatch.co.uk outlining your experience.

Salary range dependent on experience (14k-21k).

Successful candidates will be invited for an interview by the end of April.

Strictly no agencies please.

What is Store Feeder?

Store Feeder is a multi-channel solution that allows you to complete all of your ecommerce tasks in one place. After discovering that many of our clients experience the same issues when selling their products across multiple channels we thought we’d do something about it. In the main the issues reported were the amount of admin involved in keeping all of the inventory up to date, having to deal with orders from different channels in different ways and updating each order with tracking information.

So we decided to take the pain out of multi-channel retailing and offer one interface that does it all. You can find out more about Store Feeder and get in touch to discuss your requirements at www.storefeeder.com.

Internet Retailing Expo 2011

WebCatch are at the Internet Retailing Expo with our sister company UK Fulfilment to demonstrate how our combined services can provide merchants with everything they could need to sell online.

With our expertise in ecommerce solutions, our multi-channel software AND UK Fulfilment’s ability to process your orders it’s a winning combination.

Having over 15 years of multi-channel fulfillment under its belt, UK Fulfilment is well placed to handle all your orders. With same day dispatch, online stock & order management systems, low cost worldwide carrier rates and secure storage facilities, UK Fulfilment can save you money on your order processing operations.

If you dropped by to see us then let us know what you thought, or if you didn’t get a chance to make it to the exhibit then give us a call to see how we can help your business.

A dashboard designed to give you a snapshot of your business performance, Geckoboard provides great visual representation of sales figures, visitor statistics, mail campaigns, project management and more all on one page.  As they say ‘a live view on the health of your business’, something which is invaluable to our ecommerce clients.

Built up using a series of widgets, you can customise your page to show the data you want to see. Using APIs and logins you can connect other applications and software such as Magento ecommerce, Google Analytics, MailChimp and Basecamp with more to be added over time. You have the ability to compare statistics to the day before, past 7 days and past month which allows you to analyse changes, and hopefully growth over time.

Geckoboard is currently in beta testing, with invites sent out on request. As such the service is currently offered for free, though once out of beta I’m sure there will be a pricing plan to suit. It’s definitely one to look out for.

Splash pages

In a world where content is king your homepage is one of the most important pages on your website, so forfeiting this prime space for a splash page is something we would advise against. Instead, we would recommend clear messages that sum up your company so that visitors can instantly see what you have to offer.

Related content and accessible navigation are key and play a big part in your SEO campaign too, if search engines can’t find your content or your navigation because you’ve got a splash page in the way then your site is less likely to be crawled and indexed.

Pop ups

There are a number of reasons why pop-ups are not recommended, the main one comes down to user control. Using links to open new windows, pop-ups etc without first informing the visitor can be extremely annoying; the user no longer feels in control of their browsing experience. I feel this annoyance is by association, as pop-ups are commonly used by spam posts and advertisements.

As well as this, many browsers will block pop-ups through spam filters, so if it’s important information don’t run the risk of your visitors not seeing it. If it’s additional information, consider using a tooltip or similar instead.

Auto sound

A pet hate of mine is sound that plays automatically when the website loads. My reaction is to instantly navigate away from websites that do this, and if that’s your website then you’ll be losing out on potential customers. It will also do no favours for your website’s bounce rate.

If you must have sound on your website then put the visitor in the driving seat and give them the option to play / stop any sounds.

Flash websites

Flash can be a sticky subject, there have been many improvements over the years from the first instances of flash websites so not all drawbacks still exist. However, for the most part these improvements are not implemented.

The main issue with flash websites is that it’s not fully supported across the board, and if you want to reach as many potential customers as possible then your website needs to work on all the main browsers, and all platforms – this includes mobiles, pcs, macs, tablets, netbooks etc.

But then, even if your website does load, using flash has set backs in terms of SEO. For the main flash is typically image based so for search engines to index your website they’re going to need some alternative content to crawl. This has an impact on search engine positioning.

So, what’s the alternative? There are a couple of different options that will recreate some of the desired effects; one is to use jQuery which will allow you to add a bit of movement to your site. Another is to just use flash for certain elements on the page and not for the whole website. One alternative which is taking the web and turning it on its head is the new developments with HTML5, though this one may need a little more time to be totally compatible.

Summary

As with most topics related to website design, there’s a time and a place. I’m not ruling out any of the features outlined above but their use should be limited to where it’s effective / required. Use them wisely and your website will be an accessible, crawl-able, user friendly place to be.

With the increased demand many magento ecommerce websites might experience problems if too many people try to buy at the same time. Increased traffic might also mean that visitors will encounter some previously undiscovered bugs in your website. Knowing that the ecommerce environment is very competitive, you must keep any problems or downtime of your site to a minimum. Your potential clients won’t wait for you to deal with the issues of your website, they will just go to your competitors.

The best way in which you can gain competitive advantage is signing on to a magento support contract. You will have the peace of mind that if something is to go wrong, there are people waiting for your call and ready to fix any problems that might arise. We offer magento support contracts for companies of any size, and are flexible enough to fit any budget. Remember, your clients won’t wait too long if something goes wrong on your site, so it’s better to have a magento expert at hand.

Given that people are willing to shop for gifts, store owners are keen to turn those people into their customers. One of the most effective ways to do that is to create a special Christmas/Winter/New Year theme for their ecommerce solutions. This is something we regularly do for our customers. We prepare special magento web design themes for Christmas but also for Easter and other occasions per clients’ requests. Lately we have prepared such a design for PicStop – the digital accessory specialist and MS Wooden Blinds.

Our clients mention that after going for a special Christmas magento web design their sales go up, often more than 50%. We always advise to introduce some sort of special promotion or clearance offer in time for Christmas in an effort to try to get even more sales in this highly profitable period.