Introducing the only IBD
(Independent Bicycle Dealer)
"off the shelf" website solution.

i-BikeShop System Upgrades & Updates

This page details the last 40 system upgrades and updates that have taken place to the iBS system.

All new features added will be listed, plus any system modifications.
SHOW ALL UPGRADES

Shopping Cart

updated 2008-04-22 03:00:13
Order admin:

The internal order search options have been updated.

The search panel for orders has been added to the order admin menu.

When searching orders, where only a single matching order is identified, it will be loaded automatically.

It is also now possible to search for an order based on an ordered item SKU code. Example of usage would be a part arriving in-store which has been ordered for a customer who ordered online: search for the SKU code and the relevant order(s) should be returned. The SKU can be limited to just a check on SKU1 or it defaults to both SKU1 and SKU2.

Searching by order dates has also been amended. You can now have the results include all orders from the specified date to present.

Products

updated 2008-03-18 10:50:54
Following a request, a new field has been inserted into the product system.

This field is PRIVATE and its contents can only be seen in the back office... ie it is NOT a public field
How you might choose to use this field depends, but the requestor wanted a way of leaving additional supplier part numbers or pricing detail such that the information could remain private.

To access the new field, it appears at the bottom of the product editor, only in full product editing mode.

General System

updated 2008-01-17 17:27:59
Google Sitemaps
We have been watching the situation with Google Sitemaps for some time, waiting to see if there was any negative impact to submitting your site to Google in this way.

We have long held that sites should never be submitted to search engines directly, since there was some evidence that sites could be penalised for doing so. Google far prefers to find your site for itself rather than having to be told of it's existence.

We still recommend that you wait for google to find your site, but most of the time, this has already happened by the time a new site launches since we create links to all sites from the main i-BikeShop system site.

Getting your pages listed in Google can take a number of months and it is possible that the Google sitemap system might speed up this process, even if it will not affect where your site appears in the results
We have just deployed a valid dynamic Google Sitemap into every site. To get Google to use it you access the NEW Google Sitemap Submission system and follow the instructions. If you already have a Google account, because you use Froogle or similar, you should get going faster, but if necessary, set up a Google account and follow the [simple] instructions.

Once you've registered you, your site and the feed with Google, resubmitting the feed is as simple as accessing the Submit Google Sitemap system once you've finished big editing sessions... and your new pages will be automatically submitted for spidering.

Shopping Cart

updated 2008-01-15 18:47:31
Checkout Feedback
It is now possible to ask site visitors how they found the site [or a similar question] as they pass through the checkout system.

Each site can have a specific question to ask AND supply the answers that the visitors can choose from.

Suitable questions might be "How did you find our website?" or similar.

Suitable answers might be
Google
Yahoo
Other Search Engine
What MTB advert
Cycling Weekly advert
etc etc

The list generates a set of selectors and it is also possible to choose whether to add a "Other" option with an open text field.

Blocks

updated 2007-12-07 00:48:44
NEW Search Block

Up to present, the internal site search engine has only been available within the product areas of the sites.

This is historical since updates and upgrades to the system may have left sites which had the search engine built into their template out of the upgrade tree.

Whilst it has been an option to turn off the product area based search form, it could only occur if the form was manually provided by alternative means, ie by either making a custom block OR by having the search form embedded into the site template.

We have just added an automated block to take care of this such that it is now possible to have the search form displayed wherever blocks are used/displayed.

General System

updated 2007-12-07 00:45:11
Ecommerce Button Labels

I have just completed upgrading the shopping cart system to allow you to control the text that appears on two of the buttons used in the Cart Review page.

RE-CALCULATE
is used on the button prompting your visitor to update/recalculate their shopping cart when they alter quantities, change delivery regions, select carriage extras, apply vouchers etc.


SELECT OPTION
appears when your visitor has selected a product where options (variants) exist, but where they have not made a choise from the option selections. Your customer cannot progress through the order system UNTIL they have made a selection.

Both of the above snippets of text can now be edited/updated by you through the Ecommerce settings screen and are listed as Re-Calculate Button Text and Select Product Option Button text respectively. They are currently set to RE-CALCULATE and SELECT OPTION.

Shopping Cart

updated 2007-11-29 01:14:28
Vouchers
The vouchers system has been upgraded to allow % based vouchers to be applied to restricted brands in addition to restricted Categories.

Products

updated 2007-11-27 23:06:49
Product Editing Enhansement
The option to update the Product Alert field en-masse by either Brand or Subcategory has been added.

Products

updated 2007-10-23 01:01:52
Internal Template Upgrades: Upgrade #2
The pricing Matrix template has now been removed from the scripting layer and resides in configuration files. These templates have been deployed so as to be customisable on a per-site basis as required. This change has been deployed as hard configuration and can not be adjusted via the back office of a site.

Products

updated 2007-10-23 00:56:23
BUG FIXES
Sorting Anomoly Cured
An issue whereby products which were marked as offers remained in the order dictated by their normal selling price, and a combined anomoly caused by an offer product having no set selling price has now been resolved.

A hidden field in the database carries a value for actualPrice which now forms the core of any sorting patterns.

**Current Offer** tag anomoly cured
Another anomoly, whereby products with a zero offer price but with an offer status set would be displayed in some listings as current offers has also been resolved.

General System

updated 2007-10-18 22:33:49
Commencement of internal template upgrades.

Presently, all system generated pages are defined by the same template across all iBS sites. We have recently commenced the restructuring of these intrenal templates to allow greater customisation across individual sites. Work will continue to centralise the templates into configuration files allowing even greater per site customisation.

The increase in breadth of the types of product some of our newer clients are starting to bring into the system calls for greater scope in, particularly, the product system delivery. This includes the templates right the way through each step in the product selection sequence.

Additionally, we have undertaken amendments to the system to make it deal more intelligently with smaller ranges.

Previously, a single product, in a single subcategory in a single master category would require 3 clicks to reach the product despite there being only one possible end outcome. The revised system *can* now be configured to shortcutthe subcategory selection and/or product selection steps.

For example, a Master category containing 1 subcategory containing 10 products can now jump directly to the choice of 10 products, skipping the subcategory selection step.
OR
a Master category containing 1 subcategory containing 1 product can now jump directly to the 1 product, skipping the subcategory selection and the product selection steps.

This has been deployed as a setup configuration.

Shopping Cart

updated 2007-05-21 01:18:20
Facilities have been added to allow more accurate shipping costs to be applied for overseas and regional deliveries.

At the same time, a new option to offer Carriage Extras, eg Next Day bfore 10am etc type delivery upgrades has been added.

Shopping Cart

updated 2007-05-14 00:14:24
Currency conversion rates have now been automated

Shopping Cart

updated 2007-04-12 01:10:07
The PayPal option has been extended to allow sites to limit the upper value of order that can be paid for using PayPal.

Shopping Cart

updated 2007-04-10 12:46:22
PRODUCT "Small Single Item Delivery" Option
Just added.
Some of the items you sell may not justify the carriage charge you woiuld typically levy. Particularly, when an order is placed just for one of that item.
This refers to items which it is feasable to chuck in a Jiffy Bag and take down the post office rather than calling out the couriers!

We have just completed a system which will allow you to accomodate these very products. It will now allow you to specify carriage on a per product basis BUT it will only apply that overriding carriage figure IF the product is the only item in an order AND someone does not order more than one of it.

An S.S.I.D. value of 0 means that the system will always use the standard carriage calculation method.

An S.S.I.D. carriage charge is only applied if only one of a single product is ordered. As soon as other products are ordered, or the quantity is increased, the stadard calculators will kick in.

Shopping Cart

updated 2007-04-08 16:34:42
A checkout with PayPal option has just been added to enable site owners to offer PayPal as a payment option.

General System

updated 2007-01-17 04:05:22
The order stats section of order admin has been completely rewritten in order to display a complete break down of a sites performance as month by month totals.

Details are given for each ordering method, along with Average order values and total order values.

It is hoped the revised stats will give site owners greater ability to assess the performance of their site.

Blocks

updated 2006-11-25 20:12:58
The option to have product images displayed within the following three auto-generated blocks has been added;
Popular Products
Top Selling Products
Latest Additions.

Products

updated 2006-10-20 00:26:28
Product prices are now displayed within the product page titles. This serves to show pricing details within search engine results for given products.

General System

updated 2005-07-12 15:34:26

Work is currently under way on a complete rebuild of the entire system.

This rebuild will additionally see the introduction of a large number of new features and customisation/configuration options.

Products

updated 2004-07-01 16:06:33
Further enhansements to the back office features for product administration:

This is a further upgrade to those announced on 30-5-2004

Pricing is now editable en-masse from the sub-category viewer and brand viewers. Each product is displayed with the three pricing variables, RRP, our price and offer price as editable entities.

Offers can be enabled and disabled as part of a pricing update, by setting an offer price to turn an offer on, or setting the price to 0 to turn the offer off.

Shopping Cart

updated 2004-06-28 01:19:45
CHECKOUT REMINDERS enable a site admin to place a number of specially selected products onto the checkout page. These products can be restricted such that they only appear if products have been selected from a specified master category or they can be allowed to appear without any limits.

If a product from the same sub-category as a reminder is already selected, the reminder will not be displayed.

Products

updated 2004-06-27 12:09:36
The first 2 related products are now displayed with thumbnail images (if available)

Shopping Cart

updated 2004-06-27 11:21:39
The preferred delivery day options have now been tweaked to allow sites to restrict which weekdays are available as delivery days - usefull if a shop closes on a weekday and therefore cannot despatch items on that day.

Shopping Cart

updated 2004-06-25 01:24:17
PREFERRED DELIVERY DATES

If enabled in the back office, customers can now be displayed a set of delivery days from which they may select their preferred delivery day.

Site admin may specify the first possible delivery day (expressed in number terms and calculated from the day of the order being placed) eg 7 would show the first possible delivery day as being 7 days from order day.

Site admin may also specify how many days to make available.

The system will automatically ignore all Saturdays and Sundays, listing only valid dates which are weekdays.

Site admin may also specify the message which explains the preferred delivery day scheme.

Shopping Cart

updated 2004-06-22 01:02:08
VOUCHERS / PROMOTION CODES

Unique voucher codes can be created, each with a set of unique rules regarding how the voucher is applied.

This facilitates the granting of specific targetted discounts etc which can only be redeemed by those who have knowledge of the relevant code.

Products

updated 2004-06-22 00:59:51
Selectable product templates have been introduced.

12 individual templates have been added from which individual sites may select the one they wish to use. There is a preview facility in the back office such that site admins can pick the preferred template (a random product is loaded into the template for preview purposes).

Products

updated 2004-05-30 16:33:10
A number of major upgrades;

Product Status:
Previously, each product could only be assigned one of two possible status settings - ACTIVE or INACTIVE. Inactive products were hidden from visitors.
This has now been upgraded to allow 3 additional settings -

SPECIAL ORDER
SALE DISABLED
ARCHIVED

Special Order items are listed with an extra message informing visitors that the item is **Ordered Upon Request** (this message may be changed in the products settings area of the master site configuration).

Sale Disabled items are listed with a message informing visitors that the item is **Available In-Store ONLY** (this message may be changed in the products settings area of the master site configuration) AND the shopping elements are removed preventing the item from being displayed.

Archived items are hidden from both visitors and admin. Admin can select to view archived items but they are not visible by default on the product editor screens.



In addition to the above, the listings pages within the product editor have been updated to allow mass changes -

Set selected products to:
Active
Inactive
Sale Disabled (In-store only)
Special Order (Ordered upon request)

AND

Remove offers
Archive

AND

Delete

The listings pages additionally have a new colour coding to show which products are assigned which status.

To speed up delivery of the listings pages within the product editor, all listings pages are delivered without thumbnail images by default. Admin may override this setting AND if required, the site will remember the selection for the duration of the editing session.

General System

updated 2004-04-15 23:24:48
The latest MAJOR UPGRADE is the addition of an optional SMALL ADS system.

This allows visitors who register with the site to place FOR SALE or WANTED ads within the self contained small ads area. Vistors can edit and delete their own ads, edit their own account details or delete their account entirely.

The small ads system automatically deletes adverts after a time set by the site administrator.

Each advert placed is emailed to the site administrator and a quick link to either delete the advert or the user and their adverts is provided in the alert email.

General System

updated 2004-03-29 01:10:40
BRAND > CATEGORY ASSIGNMENT:
Within the brand editor, and when a brand is created, it is possible assign individual brands to specific showrooms (master categories). This enables the display of the brand logo etc on the main showroom page even if there are no products available within it from that brand.
When this feature was originally added, this only allowed for a maximum of 15 master categories to be created. This has now been changed to remove the upper limit of 15 on Master Categories.
We have added a new tool which will allow you to build those associations all in one go. This is now listed in the new & revised product management sub-menu as "Category Placement" adjacent to the other brand functions. These placements are still possible within the brand editor and within the add new brand function.

Whilst upgrading the brands management area, the ease of adding/modifying brand logos as been improved, such that this can now be completed from within the edit brand page, avoiding the extra click.


ORDER MANAGEMENT:
We have aded the facility to change the status of pending (viewed) orders en masse. You can select individually orders which you wish to process in this way and then set them to either;
COMPLETED
AWAITING STOCK
DECLINED
OR
DELETE -> Be aware that this deletes the marked orders from the database and is irreversible!


LAYOUT TWEAKS:
The product admin submenu has been revamped, primarily to better accomodate the recent additions for associations.
The main admin menu which appears throughout the back-office has been revamped such that it takes up less space on the page.

Products

updated 2004-02-18 14:26:15
Products basic and advanced search tools have now been added.

Products

updated 2004-02-10 23:10:36
PRODUCT RELATIONSHIPS.
Newly introduced is the facilty to create links directly between related products.
This takes the form of FOUR options:

1) Category Relationship.
Lets say you wanted an easy way to direct visitors who look at products within your Dirt Jump BMX category to your Freestyle BMX category.
Creating a relationship between the 2 categories adds a link to BOTH of the relevant subcategory pages AND and individual product pages when a product from within one of the related categories is viewed.

2) Product Relationship. (Two Way)
Lets say you wanted an easy way to direct visitors who look at a particular gents bike model to the ladies model of the same bike (where the ladies model is listed seperately).
A two way product relationship will place a link to Product B from Product A AND a link to Product A from Product B. These links appear on the full product pages ONLY.

3) Product Relationship. (One Way)
Lets say you wanted an easy way to direct visitors who look at a particular bike model to a specific accessory for that bike. BUT you dont want the bike to be listed on the accessory page. As an example, you might wish to link to a suspension shock pump from a bike fitted with an air rear shock.
A one-way relationship will place a link to Product B from Product A BUT NOT a link to Product A from Product B. This link appear on the full product pages ONLY.

4) Product Relationship (Global One-Way)
Lets say you wanted an easy way to direct visitors who look at a range of bike models to a specific accessory for those bike. BUT you dont want the bikes to be listed on the accessory page. As an example, you might wish to link to a set of stabilisers from ALL your 16 inch wheel junior bikes.
A one-way global relationship will place a link to Product B from all Products in a sub-category BUT NOT a link to any of those products from Product B. This link appear on the full product pages ONLY.

Shopping Cart

updated 2004-01-25 23:01:53
The order management side of the shopping cart has received a sequence of major upgrades.

Revised Order Statistics Panel:
Panel now reports values and quanities of:
Completed Orders (non-secure)
Completed Orders (secure)
Pending Orders (non-secure)
Pending Orders (secure)
Declined Orders
Abandoned orders
Fax generated orders.

Introduction of carriers and tracking references for orders. As many carriers as required may be entered into the system.

Introduction of Admin Staff. As many staff as required may be entered into the system.

Customisable order emails. The system sends different automated email messages for a variety of reasons. The content of these messages is now fully customisable.

Order staging. Previously, any order placed was archived immedately after viewing for the first time, and there was no mechanism to allow site admins to reject an order or mark it as pending (awaiting stock etc).

Orders now sit in a variety of progress stages:
New orders (as yet unviewed)
Pending orders (viewed but not yet actioned)
Accepted Orders (order process commenced)
Declined Orders (where store has decided NOT to supply)
Completed orders (where all processes have been completed and the goods despatched)

Orders automatically move from New to Pending once they are viewed the first time.
Order Admins may change the progress of any order by selecting the new stage from a drop down menu. They may, at this time, choose to send their customer a "Progress Email" as part of that process. They may add their own comments to that email.
Alternatively, order admins may leave an internal message against the order, such that any other order admin dealing with the order at a later time can be immediately informed of any relevant information pertaining to that order. Each comment is owned by an admin from a pre-defined list of order admins.

When completing an order, the admin may select a carrier (from a pre-defined list) and enter a parcel tracking number, this information being emailed to the customer as part of the "Order Completed" email along with a tracking URL if it has been provided.

Orders may now be deleted from the system. Orders which are "declined" are not deleted and are therefore available to view through the enhanced order search facility which now allows admins to filter on order status.
Deleting irrelevant orders (for example test transactions or duplicates) and archiving declined orders will enable the order statistics panel to be far more informative.

Blocks

updated 2004-01-08 01:10:15
BRANDS BLOCK ADDED

Location: Left blocks panel
Content: List of brands in the site complete with link to the relevant brand page

Options:
Block On or Off
Border On or Off
Block Heading (title)

Shopping Cart

updated 2004-01-07 01:07:01
Following a number of customers who fail to give complete contact information when placing orders, and those who cannot type their email address correctly, the customer address details section of the shopping cart has been updated such that it now requires ALL elements of the customers address AND they are required to enter their email address twice.

General System

updated 2003-12-02 02:23:39
The Order statistics panel has been expanded to allow the purging of abondoned and fax placed orders from the database.

It additionally reports the quantity of orders for each type.

General System

updated 2003-12-02 02:21:04
2 New features, both to do with the shopping cart system.

Each of the following 2 setup systems are available within the Master Site COnfiguration

COUNTRIES -
It is now possible to select which countries exist within the order form page. A message is now carried on the customer page which states that if their country is not listed that you do not have facilities to deliver there.

CARRIAGE OPTIONS -
Several users have, at one time or another, asked about having over-rides for carriage based on individual products.
We have opted away from installing this on a per product basis, HOWEVER we have added a surcharge facility that will enable you to charge a surcharge on all items selected from defined sub-categories. For example, you may wish to charge more than your standard accessory rate for turbo trainers or childrens trailers.
You can select whether to surcharge on a per item or per order basis. If you select per item, more than one of the same item will reult in a surcharge for EACH.
SURCHARGES ARE ADDED TO THE STANDARD CALCULATION FOR CARRIAGE AND OVER-RIDES ALL DEFAULT SETTINGS.

General System

updated 2003-11-30 01:07:22
Delayed Notice:

i-BikeShop is BikeHub friendly. Automated block features have been added to display a bikehub logo on the homepage of each site supporting the bikehub levy scheme.

General System

updated 2003-11-30 01:05:40
Within the Order Admin area, a new order statistics panel has been added.

Intro Editor

updated 2003-10-10 14:44:48
It is now possible to restrict the products which the random product intro generator selects from.
You can leave it set to the default "All products" or specify "Offers Only" which will only pull out items on offer. You may even restrict either of the above 2 choices to any given master category, ie you may select that it only display bikes which are on offer, or accessories etc

For more information you can contact us on: info@i-bikeshop.com

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