One of my pals put together a web store using Google's
'checkout store gadget':
http://groups.google.com/group/check...t/topics?gvc=2

The store is fairly user-unfriendly because:
* Product images take much too long to update
* The code does not support 'global search' across multiple
categories.
* The code does not use screen space well.

How does she create a store that has the functionality and
user-friendliness of the 'gold standard' mcmaster.com
quickly, economically and with high quality without
a steep 'learning curve'.

Thanks!

--Winston

Winston wrote:
One of my pals put together a web store using Google's
'checkout store gadget':
http://groups.google.com/group/check...t/topics?gvc=2

The store is fairly user-unfriendly because:
* Product images take much too long to update
* The code does not support 'global search' across multiple
categories.
* The code does not use screen space well.

How does she create a store that has the functionality and
user-friendliness of the 'gold standard' mcmaster.com
quickly, economically and with high quality without
a steep 'learning curve'.

Thanks!

--Winston

you're not going to like this answer, but all she needs to do is hire some
really skilled developers.

good luck finding them and then paying for them though.

You get what you pay for.

On Sat, 11 Jun 2011 16:05:19 -0700, Winston
wrote:

One of my pals put together a web store using Google's
'checkout store gadget':
http://groups.google.com/group/check...t/topics?gvc=2

The store is fairly user-unfriendly because:
* Product images take much too long to update

Did she use Photoshop to deflate her unwieldy 2MB pics down to 80KB
(or much smaller, depending upon pixel size needed) pics, with very
little loss of clarity? I've been doing that for years. It's called
optimization. This can make a slovenly store into a nice experience
all by itself.


* The code does not support 'global search' across multiple
categories.

Use a different search module or store software.


* The code does not use screen space well.

See above.


How does she create a store that has the functionality and
user-friendliness of the 'gold standard' mcmaster.com
quickly, economically and with high quality without
a steep 'learning curve'.

Simple. She buys a custom, ready-to-use store from an integrator, at
great cost. McMaster probably has $100k invested in their store, with
several years of testing and massaging to get it to where it is today.

--
The ultimate result of shielding men from the
effects of folly is to fill the world with fools.
--Herbert Spencer

Larry Jaques wrote:
On Sat, 11 Jun 2011 16:05:19 -0700,
wrote:

One of my pals put together a web store using Google's
'checkout store gadget':
http://groups.google.com/group/check...t/topics?gvc=2

The store is fairly user-unfriendly because:
* Product images take much too long to update

Did she use Photoshop to deflate her unwieldy 2MB pics down to 80KB
(or much smaller, depending upon pixel size needed) pics, with very
little loss of clarity? I've been doing that for years. It's called
optimization. This can make a slovenly store into a nice experience
all by itself.

Dunno. The thumbnails are *tiny* yet take forever to load.
'View Large Image' is instantaneous, so I guess that she
does not have separate files for thumbnails and large images.


* The code does not support 'global search' across multiple
categories.

Use a different search module or store software.

That's the idear.


* The code does not use screen space well.

See above.


How does she create a store that has the functionality and
user-friendliness of the 'gold standard' mcmaster.com
quickly, economically and with high quality without
a steep 'learning curve'.

Simple. She buys a custom, ready-to-use store from an integrator, at
great cost. McMaster probably has $100k invested in their store, with
several years of testing and massaging to get it to where it is today.

After looking at Zen Cart, I can see that she doesn't really need to
spend on a 'McMaster' scale to radically improve her site.

Thanks!

--Winston

Winston wrote:

One of my pals put together a web store using Google's
'checkout store gadget':
http://groups.google.com/group/check...t/topics?gvc=2

The store is fairly user-unfriendly because:
* Product images take much too long to update
* The code does not support 'global search' across multiple
categories.
* The code does not use screen space well.

How does she create a store that has the functionality and
user-friendliness of the 'gold standard' mcmaster.com
quickly, economically and with high quality without
a steep 'learning curve'.
I built a web store using oscmax, an open-source e-commerce
system that is fairly easy to use. They want to sell you their
service to configure the main page and get their ads off it, but
it is pretty easy to edit the script to do that.

You can see my store at :
http://pico-systems.com/oscrc4/catalog/index.php

It took a lot of time to get all the necessary utilities and
servers on my system, and to make it all secure. The oscmax people
have a new version that I need to upgrade to.

I'm not sure how much global search capability it has.

I hope you are joking about the McMaster-Carr site, they probably
spend several million $ per year to maintain and develop it.

Jon

On Sun, 12 Jun 2011 00:36:58 -0500, Jon Elson
wrote:

Winston wrote:

One of my pals put together a web store using Google's
'checkout store gadget':
http://groups.google.com/group/check...t/topics?gvc=2

The store is fairly user-unfriendly because:
* Product images take much too long to update
* The code does not support 'global search' across multiple
categories.
* The code does not use screen space well.

How does she create a store that has the functionality and
user-friendliness of the 'gold standard' mcmaster.com
quickly, economically and with high quality without
a steep 'learning curve'.
I built a web store using oscmax, an open-source e-commerce
system that is fairly easy to use. They want to sell you their
service to configure the main page and get their ads off it, but
it is pretty easy to edit the script to do that.

You can see my store at :
http://pico-systems.com/oscrc4/catalog/index.php

Nice!

It took a lot of time to get all the necessary utilities and
servers on my system, and to make it all secure. The oscmax people
have a new version that I need to upgrade to.

ZenCart has roots in OS Commerce, too.


I'm not sure how much global search capability it has.

Too much. g It searches descriptions as well as headers.


I hope you are joking about the McMaster-Carr site, they probably
spend several million $ per year to maintain and develop it.

That much, do you think? Perhaps if they outsource all services,
inventory, and _everything_.

--
The ultimate result of shielding men from the
effects of folly is to fill the world with fools.
--Herbert Spencer