Our e-commerce software Ballyhoo Commerce will support the Welsh language as of Version 1.9.7.

Translations have been added for all of the text that is standard with any installation of our e-commerce software.

This means that you will be able to add products and content to your site in Welsh as well as English, giving your users the flexibility to view your website in their preferred language.

Although Welsh is a minority language, we thought it would be a great addition to the system as so many of our customers are based in Wales.

However, the system is not limited to Welsh and is capable of supporting any number of languages – some of which will be added as standard to the system in the future – including French, German and Spanish.

If you are an existing e-commerce customer and want to use this facility on your website you need only pay for the time it takes us to upgrade your site to Version 1.9.7 (when released) – which could be as little as £40 – £80.

New e-commerce customers will enjoy this feature as standard.

For more information or to upgrade your e-commerce website please get in touch.

Upgrades to this e-commerce software will be rolled out among our customers on a first come, first served basis and price depends on your current version. If you are interested in this version we recommend you get in touch soon to schedule an upgrade.

Learn more about this version of our e-commerce system.

New Features

Browse By Manufacturer

Customers will now be able to browse your product catalogue by manufacturer.

If you sell a lot of items by the same manufacturer your customers will be able to browse through the full range of stock you carry. This benefits customers who may only wish to buy matching products, hold a particular manufacturer in high regard or simply want to see what else they sell.

Shipping Regions

Ballyhoo Commerce currently allows you to charge delivery to the whole of the UK at a standard rate and then specify an extra charge through shipping bands for the item weight. However, some couriers charge considerably more to deliver items to distant and relatively remote regions such as the Highlands or UK Islands.

To ensure you do not make a loss sending items through these couriers the UK has now been divided into shipping regions in the e-commerce software. These cover:

• England
• Wales
• Scottish Lowlands
• Scottish Highlands
• Northern Ireland
• UK Islands (Shetlands, Isle of Man, Channel Islands, etc.)

You will now be able to specify your delivery charges to these regions in your administration area allowing the customer to simply select their region from a list while submitting their delivery address.

Enhancements

Data Structure

For this version we have also revamped the data structure behind our e-commerce system. Many of our customers have thousands of customers and orders; as their businesses grow their e-commerce package needs to scale and meet their needs intelligently.

This restructure of the way data is stored will increase the efficiency of Ballyhoo Commerce as well as boost reliability making selling online even more quick and simple.

Content Management

We hope with this version of Ballyhoo Commerce you will find managing the content of your online shop much simpler. The user interface has undergone a number of refinements to make the Content Manager far more user-friendly and intuitive.

If you have any questions regarding this version of our e-commerce system or would like to schedule an update please contact us.

Please note that the following is for information purposes only and should not be construed as legal advice.

Who do these regulations apply to?

The EC Directive applies to anyone who:

• advertises goods or services online
• sells goods or services to businesses or consumers online
• transmits or stores electronic content or provides access to a communication network

Why should I comply with these regulations?

The EC Directive exists not only to protect the end user but to protect you, the service provider.

If you fulfil the criteria set out in the EC Directive regulations you will be protecting yourself against end users of your website:

• cancelling an order with you
• seeking a court order against you
• suing you for breach of statutory duty

In the most extreme case you may be issued with a Stop Now Enforcement Order if your failure to comply harms the collective interest of consumers. If you do not comply with this order you may be held in contempt of court and may face a fine or imprisonment.

What do I need to do?

General Information

Provide the following information clearly, directly and permanently on your website.

• the full contact details of your business, including postal address, email address and telephone number
• the details of any trade organisations to which you belong, including registration number and link to an online register if available
• the details of any authorisation scheme relevant to your online business
• any professional qualifications, the awarding body and a link to any professional rules to which you work by
• your VAT number, if applicable
• clear indications of prices, including any delivery or tax charges

Electronic Contracts

If you allow customers to place orders online you must notify them of the following prior to the order being placed:

• a description of the different technical steps required to conclude a contract online
• whether the contract will be filed by your business and whether it can be accessed
• the technical means to enable end users to correct any inputting errors they make
• the languages offered in which to conclude the contract
• the terms and conditions of the contract
• codes of conduct to which the business subscribes

Once the order has been placed you must immediately acknowledge receipt of the order by email.

Commercial Communications

If you send electronic communications, such as email newsletters:

• any emails designed to promote your goods, services or image must be clearly identified as such
• the person/business on whose behalf they are sent must be clearly identified
• any promotional offers you advertise e.g. any discounts, premium gifts, competitions or games must be clearly identified
• any qualifying conditions regarding such offers must be clearly explained
• any unsolicited emails you send must be clearly identified as such

Resources

The full text of the Electronic Commerce (EC Directive) Regulations 2002 is available here.

Further helpful documents, including FAQs, are available here.

An SSL Certificate is an internet security technique that encrypts sensitive information sent between your customer’s web browser and your website. Only recognised certificate authorities, such as GlobalSign and Thawte, can issue an SSL certificate. This is then unique to your website and will be verified by your customer’s web browser each time your website is accessed. Evidence of an SSL Certificate on a website is characterised by the locked padlock symbol in the address bar or bottom right of a web browser.

How will having one benefit my website?

Consumers are increasingly aware of internet security and fraud and know to look for the padlock symbol when buying online. Having an SSL Certificate installed on your website gives them confidence that their details and payments are being securely transmitted. If you do not have this in place, some customers may choose not to purchase from you.

What are the costs?

At Ballyhoo, we provide a competitively priced SSL Certificate package.

Included:

• GlobalSign Certificate
• Up to 256-bit encryption enabled
• Universal browser compatibility
• Dedicated IP Address
• Maintenance of certificate (including set-up and renewal)

Annual payments are usually required in advance but we want your website to be affordable and will allow you spread the cost over 12 months for only £16.95 per month.

Contact us to learn more or request an SSL Certificate.

Other major new features include product reviews, a returns request facility and new content and user management features.

SagePay Server Integration

Ordinarily, a customer buying a product on your online shop will be directed to a page outside your website to complete their transaction. While these pages are somewhat customisable with your branding it is very obvious that your customer is now on another website which unfortunately doesn’t give a very professional image.

However, if you are a SagePay (formerly Protx) merchant using the new version of Ballyhoo Commerce your customers will never be directed away from your website. The SagePay Server Integration allows inline payment processing meaning that communications with SagePay take place behind the scenes. The payment page is fully customisable and will look exactly like a any other page on your website ensuring your customer experiences a fluid payment process.

To take advantage of this great feature you will need to become a SagePay merchant as well as have an SSL certificate installed on your website.

Returns Requests Facility

In the unlikely event that a customer is unhappy with their purchase from your e-commerce website they will now have the facility to go into their account and request a return from their account area rather than email you directly.

Customers simply have to click on the ‘Returns’ option beside their recent order and they will be asked to specify what it is they are returning and the reason for their dissatisfaction (see below). You will then be sent an email detailing this and can choose to refund the item at your discretion.

Product Reviews

A feature recently requested and implemented is Product Reviews. Customers can now review your products and give them a 5-star rating.

While viewing a product, if a customer clicks on ‘Review This Product‘ they will be directed to the above page where they can give the item a rating out of five and optionally leave their name and further comments. If the customer does not wish to leave their name ‘Anonymous’ will appear beside the review.

The average rating appears below the product’s image on each category page. On the individual product page a full list of reviews is available to read.

Good reviews are a great way to encourage unsure customers to buy a product and you will benefit by knowing how your products are perceived and liked.

Content Management

While using your e-commerce software we want you to have full control over the way your site operates. So with this release we have included new content management features which will allow you to have more control than ever before.

You will be able to nest pages within your site to make your website more easy to navigate. Just as you can make categories and unlimited sub-categories, you will now be able to do the same with content pages. For example, you could create a page called Contact Us and within that have a page with your contact details, another for a contact form and a further page for a map of your location.

It is also possible to create multiple content lists. This means you can create a main navigation for the top of your website with all of the most important pages, for example Products, Services, Contact and About Us, and also have a navigation at the bottom of your site for less important pages such as Terms & Conditions, Site Map and Privacy. This aspect of your site is now completely under your control.

User Management

Also with this version you can manage multiple users on one Ballyhoo Commerce account. You are free to add as many users as you wish – each member of your organisation could have a unique username and password to access the e-commerce system.

As administrator for your account you can also distribute access rights to each user. For example you may want an employee to be able to mark orders as dispatched without access to content of your website.

If you have any queries or are interested in upgrading to this version of Ballyhoo Commerce please contact us.

System Messages

In a previous version of Ballyhoo Commerce, we developed global consistent system messages with a transparent background to display important messages to the end user, for example that a product has been added to the basket. Today there are various ways to access the internet, with new methods constantly coming to the fore. While this is fantastic for internet users, certain development features such as this may not work in every browser which can unfortunately cause customer dissatisfaction.

To combat this, we are striving to ensure that our websites work to their full specification in all internet browsers in use, not just the most popular such as Firefox and Internet Explorer. Version 1.9.3 includes an improvement on this information feature whereby we have developed our own lightweight and efficient technique for displaying messages. We can confirm that this version of Ballyhoo Commerce has been fully tested in the Android, iPhone, Playstation 3 and Wii browsers.

This feature has also been employed to include an add-to-basket function that prevents the page from being refreshed. Often, when shopping online, you may add an item to your shopping basket and not be returned to your previous place onscreen once this has been processed. We understand how frustrating this can be, especially on a page with many items. This feature ensures that anyone using a website built on this version of the Ballyhoo Commerce software will not lose their place while shopping which can in turn encourage multiple purchases.

Mandatory Contact Number

When a customer registers their details on a Ballyhoo website, their telephone number was not previously a required field. However, after several customer requests, this information is now mandatory in Version 1.9.3. Although some customers may feel it is not essential for you to have their telephone number, several courier firms now insist on a contact number for delivery purposes. It can also be useful to you should an emergency situation arise and you need to talk to your customer immediately.

Template System

Ballyhoo Commerce was developed to provide an ultimately user-friendly method of selling online. Our customers benefit from a simple interface that allows them to efficiently and successfully manage their online shops. In the future we hope to make our e-commerce software available to web developers, through payment of a one-off license fee per website. This version of Ballyhoo Commerce includes a simplified template system, moving us one step closer to this goal.

For more information or to arrange an upgrade please contact us.

Ballyhoo has recently become a registered partner of SagePay (formerly Protx).

Our e-commerce software, Ballyhoo Commerce, has been integrated with SagePay for some time, allowing our e-commerce customers to support transactions on their websites through this payment gateway.

Although SagePay is a highly secure payment processor and strives to provide affordable solutions, people paying through this gateway (and other prominent payment gateways) are currently directed to a page beyond our customers’ websites to complete their transactions.

Coming Soon…

Presently, we are in the process of developing a payment option using the  SagePay Server Integration. This means that with the soon-to-be-released Version 1.9.4 of Ballyhoo Commerce, if you are a SagePay client your customers will never be directed to a page outside your website to complete transactions. We think this provides a more professional image for your business.

Sign up to SagePay

For more information about upgrading to the latest version of Ballyhoo Commerce to support this new feature, or for any other enquiries, please contact us.

This error message, found in the Integration Console of Google Checkout, had us particularly perplexed but, after some research, we discovered the solution.

Google Checkout does not permit transactions from users in certain countries. The following list of countries should be removed from your shipping zones:

1. Afghanistan
2. Aland Islands
3. American Samoa
4. Andorra
5. Anguilla
6. Antartica
7. Bhutan
8. Bouvet Island
9. Brazil
10. British Indian Ocean Terrritory
11. Burma
12. Burundi
13. Cayman Islands
14. Chad
15. China
16. Christmas Island
17. Cocos (Keeling) Islands
18. Comoros
19. Congo
20. Congo, The Democratic Republic Of The
21. Cook Islands
22. Cuba
23. Djibouti
24. Dominica
25. Egypt
26. Eritrea
27. Ethiopia
28. French Guiana
29. French Polynesia
30. French Southern Territories
31. Gambia
32. Grenada
33. Guadeloupe
34. Guernsey
35. Guinea
36. Guinea-Bissau
37. Guyana
38. Heard Island And McDonald Islands
39. Iran
40. Iraq
41. Isle Of Man
42. Jersey
43. Kiribati
44. Kyrgyzstan
45. Lesotho
46. Liberia
47. Libya
48. Macao
49. Madagascar
50. Malawi
51. Marshall Islands
52. Martinique
53. Mauritania
54. Mayotte
55. Micronesia
56. Mongolia
57. Montenegro
58. Montserrat
59. Nauru
60. New Caledonia
61. Niger
62. Niue
63. Norfolk Island
64. Northern Mariana Islands
65. North Korea
66. Palau
67. Palestinian Territory
68. Papua New Guinea
69. Pitcairn Islands
70. Reunion
71. Saint Barthelemy
72. Saint Helena
73. Saint Kitts and Nevis
74. Saint Lucia
75. Saint Martin
76. Saint Pierre and Miquelon
77. Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
78. Samoa
79. São Tomé and Príncipe
80. Serbia
81. Sierra Leone
82. Solomon Islands
83. Somalia
84. South Africa
85. South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands
86. South Korea
87. Sudan
88. Suriname
89. Svalbard and Jan Mayen Islands
90. Swaziland
91. Syria
92. Timor-Leste
93. Tokelau
94. Tonga
95. Turks and Caicos Islands
96. Tuvalu
97. United States Minor Outlying Islands
98. Vanuatu
99. Vatican City State
100. Virgin Islands, U.S.
101. Wallis and Futuna Islands
102. Western Sahara

Note: This list has been compiled by eliminating known supported countries from a list of countries by the ISO and is not official.

We hope that sharing our experiences with this integration will benefit others.

Initial Error Message

If you encounter the following vague error message when directing a user to Google Checkout:

“Oops! (Example Company) has sent Google a shopping cart with errors in it. We’ll contact them to ask that they fix this problem. As this could be a temporary issue, you can go back in your browser to try checking out again.”

Then you should now:

• Go to www.google.com/checkout
• Log in with your Google account
• Select My Sales in the top right corner
• Select the Tools tab
• Select Integration Console at the bottom of the left side

Any error messages for your attention will be in the Integration Console. These outline the fundamental issue but do not always provide a solution.

Solutions

One particular issue that we have identified a solution for is “The specified ShippingRestrictions result in an unsupported shipping area“.