**UPDATED** Adding Google Business search to your ecommerce website

November 26, 2008 | 25 Comments

**UPDATED**
This is an updated version of the script. It now resides on only a single page and should be less confusing to put into a website. Please feel free to use this script as a base and customize as you like.

Sign up for a business site search account here: http://www.google.com/sitesearch/index.html

The internet is abuzz with news of Google’s new business custom search engine. Google is allowing business sites to have their own custom search engine for $100 per year (<5,000 pages) or $500 per year (up to 50,000) pages. This includes some cool reporting and an XML API so that you can customize to your heart's content.

Google Custom Search

After messing around with Google’s javascript code I decided to write my own little script to better integrate it into my website. The javascript code was giving me some major problems with the width of my pages, so I canned it and went to their XML version of the search function.

The following is a very simple php & html script that you can use for your own Google business search engine. It was made for a php5 server as it uses the built-in simpleXML class. Upload this to your website, enter your account id, and make a form to post to it. That’s it!

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Posted by jestep | Filed Under Development, Hosting, Scripts 

DHL is gone, get out now!

November 14, 2008 | 5 Comments

We just had a meeting with our UPS rep today. Luckily we switched just before DHL decided to stop all US domestic operations. Ironically our UPS rep helped a DHL truck driver uninstall their drop-box from our office building. He also got a picture of him helping DHL on his cell phone which I can honestly say was was of the funniest things I’ve seen in a while.

Anyway, if you’re using DHL for your shipping, and you’re not looking for a new provider, you need to get moving. DHL stops all domestic US operations on January 30, but most of the drop-boxes are already gone.

We haven’t seen or heard of any UPS or Fedex price gouging, which is very nice to see, since shipping costs are at an all-time high. I strongly recommend looking into UPS, Fedex, and possibly USPS if you were using exclusively DHL. The time to switch is NOW, as the holiday season is approaching, and this normally isn’t an overnight process. Get it done before things get too busy.

Good places to start:
UPS for DHL Customers
Fedex Welcomes DHL Customers
USPS for DHL Customers

Posted by jestep | Filed Under General 

5 Steps to a A Proper Contact Form!

November 4, 2008 | 2 Comments

I’m not sure if there is an authoritative guide on a website’s contact form, so here’s my take on the picture.

A contact form is a seemingly simple feature, that most websites mess up. While a broken or poorly designed contact form may not be the end-all problem with a website, there’s no reason that it shouldn’t work correctly.

What a contact for must contain:

  1. Name, email, (optional: phone), and message fields
  2. Shouldn’t Contain… A ridiculous captcha verification script
  3. Confirmation / feedback that the form was properly submitted
  4. An email response that the form was successfully received
  5. Finally… A response from someone that read the form (If necessary)

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Posted by jestep | Filed Under Customer Service, General, Usability