Easy Access to On Demand Products

When a customer comes to your website looking for a specific product, the last thing they want to do is perform a lengthy search to find it. If it takes them longer than five minutes, then you can rest assured they will buy the product from someone else. The best way to solve this problem is to offer a search functionality in your online store. Many commerce web hosting solutions include a search function by default. Before deciding on a specific search function, you may want to investigate the features of the search tool. It would be best to us ea search function that lets customers conduct searches based on a specific set of criteria. If you’re having trouble finding out how to integrate the search function with your website, then you may want to contact customer service.  Make sure the search bar is in plain site, because the last thing you want is a search bar that needs to be searched for!

Be Flexible

If you want to sell products to the largest audience possible, then you’ll want to be flexible with your payment and shipping options. Every payment method that you don’t accept is costing you money in the long term. It is extremely important to offer alternate payment methods such as PayPal or AlertPay, as many of your customers will feel a lot more secure paying you through these programs. You may also want to add a feature that gives your customers the ability to put items on layaway. In the ecommerce market this feature is known as a wishlist. Sometimes customers may not want to purchase something at the moment, but instead would like to be reminded of the item at a later date, like a friend or family member’s birthday. Find out how to install the wishlist feature offered by your web hosting company to give your customers this convenience.

Streamline the Checkout

Many shoppers are discouraged by sites that require them to perform many tasks just to buy a product. After all, they are the one’s paying for the product or service, so they shouldn’t have to do anything more than pay right? Unfortunately, man business owners sabotage a large portion of their sales by asking too much of their customers. For example, some ecommerce sites want you to fill out surveys or confirm information before you can buy something. While this will give you added information about your target audience, it can also cause you to lose a great portion of your targeted audience. Instead of requiring your guests to register before buying, why not use the information given at checkout as their registration info. Many sites combine the checkout with the registration process to make the shopping experience quicker and more convenient for the customer.

Related posts:

• August 20, 2010 – Using Ecommerce Web Hosting to Build Online Shops
• March 16, 2010 – X-Cart Reviewed– eCommerce Shopping Cart Solution
• October 5, 2011 – What to Look for in Your Shopping Cart Software
• September 10, 2011 – Ecommerce: Trends and Benefits
• September 1, 2011 – Premium Web Hosting and Security Features Available in the Public Domain
• August 30, 2011 – Improvements with Sitefinity 4.2 – Is it Now Read for Prime Time?
• August 23, 2011 – The Newest Way to build eCommerce Solutions
• July 29, 2011 – Is SSL Essential for eCommerce Sites?
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Key phpBB Features

The phpBB forum software is loaded with features that appeal to administrators, moderators and end-users.  Some of the most noteworthy features include:

Private Messages

- Send messages to multiple recipients

- Send messages to groups

- Send BCCs (Blind Carbon Copies)

- Forward messages

- Export messages

- Friends list (address book)

- Attach files to private messages

- Private message drafts

- Private message folders

- Private message filters

- Conversation view

Registration

- Limit registration attempts

- Set minimum and maximum login ID length

- Set minimum and maximum password length

- Regulate login ID characters

- Establish password complexity requirements

- Enforce password changes

- Enable and disable COPPA

- Allow and deny email address re-usage

Built-in Search Engine

- Search topics within the site

- Search within topics

- Search through multiple categories and forums

- Search within first post of a specific topic

- Enable search flood interval to reduce server load

- Search capabilities within backend database

Administrative Control Panel

- Enhanced interface with more accessible and flexible tab layout

- Modular system provides for easy extensibility

- Allow and deny access to various administrative functions

- Founder status bulletin board creation

- New design for easier use

Moderator Control Panel

- Easy management of moderation queue

- Comprehensive lists of warnings and reports

- Forum, topic and post detail views

Polls

- Multiple options for each user

- Allow and deny vote changes

Usergroups

- Multiple group leaders

- Set display color specific group members

- Set group ranking

- Create group avatars

Profile View

- Comprehensive user statistics on profile view

- Usergroups on profile view

- Signature on profile view

Permissions System

- Enhanced and more flexible system

- Easy permissions via assigned roles

- Enhanced administrator and moderator access

- Global moderators

User Management

- Advanced user interface

- Modify user preferences

- Modify group memberships

- Display and edit all user attachments

- View permissions directly

Availability and Requirements

Incorporating a forum into your website is a great way to establish a community and encourage audience participation.  There are a number of programs that can help you achieve these goals and some of the best ones are of the open-source variety.  Being that the software has become so incredibly popular, most web hosting providers offer full support for phpBB.  Hosts that utilize cPanel as their control panel allow you to install the application right through Fantastico.  In just a few easy clicks, your website can be enhanced by one of the most powerful online bulletin board systems in the world.   All you need to run phpBB efficiently is a web server equipped with the PHP programming language and a supported database.  Although MySQL is the database used most often, the platform also supports database management systems such as PostgreSQL, Microsoft SQL Server, SQLite, Oracle, Firebird, OpenLink Virtuoso and several others.

Related posts:

• September 28, 2011 – Comparing Popular Bulletin Board Software Packages
• May 27, 2010 – Hosting Providers Diversifying: NetGrey.com Takes the Lead
• February 11, 2010 – Converting Visitors to Buyers Using Standard eCommerce Features
• January 19, 2010 – Popular Free Control Panels – No Charge, Great Value
• April 1, 2009 – Introducing the phpWebSite CMS