Web Development, E-commerce, Oscommerce, and Web Marketing

PHP MySQL Database Reset Script Cron

2008-06-26T07:35:00.001-07:00

This script is made specifically to reset your mysql database at specific intervals via a cron job so that you can run demos of your software. Say you have a demo of an E-commerce shopping cart and you want the data reset every few hours. All you have to do is set a few settings on the first line of the script to use your MySQL database you have stored on your server. You can download our php mysql database reset script here: Download php mysql database reset cron

San Luis Obispo Area Web Design Referrals

2006-08-04T09:21:00.000-07:00

From time to time we are running at full capacity and are in need of a reputable web development company to refer clients to. We prefer a company that is located near the San Luis Obispo, California area and is competent at Oscommerce development, Flash design, SEO, CSS, and can cleanly code html web sites. If you are such a company, please contact kjavitz@itwebexperts.com (please no emails from overseas web development shops).

Making Paypal Not Lose Order Data In Oscommerce (auto-return)

2006-08-03T08:48:00.000-07:00

Getting annoyed by Paypal losing some of your orders in Oscommerce? There are 2 possible solutions. One is quick and easy, the other requires installation of the Paypal IPN module.

Here is the quick and easy solution (but not perfect one). First install this fix from troyjoy listed in the Oscommerce contributions section. I have this hosted on my web site: www.itwebexperts.com/MakePayPalPostOrderInfo.zip This is easy and only involves modifying about 2 lines of code.

After that is done you need to go to your paypal account at paypal.com:
1. click on profile
2. go to website payment preferences
3. select "yes" for Auto-Return (you do not need to set a url below this).

The second method if you don't want to do the first one is installing Paypal IPN. To do this install the contribution listed here: Oscommerce Paypal IPN Contribution
There are other Paypal IPN contributions on Oscommerce, but the one linked to above is by far the easiest and best one to use.

Setting Up USPS Shipping Quotes in Oscommerce

2006-07-31T11:06:00.000-07:00

Here is how to setup USPS shipping in Oscommerce.

1. Go here: http://www.usps.com/webtools/welcome.htm and click "Sign Up" under USPS Web Tools
2. After you sign up you will get a confirmation email in the next 24 hours or so. When you get this email, send an email to icustomercare@usps.com with your username they assign you. Copy and paste this into your email also: "Hi, I am using a third party shopping cart Oscommerce that has already been tested with the USPS shipping quotes API. Please switch my account to the production server"
3. They should email you back saying you have been switched to the production server.
4. Now in your Oscommerce admin go to modules > shipping > USPS and install it. Then put in your USPS username. The password field can be left blank. Make sure your server is set to the production server.
5. You will need to make sure in your Oscommmerce admin > configuration > shipping/packaging ship from country and zip code is set up. Also you can set your Package tare weight. Say if you want .5lbs added to the shipping quote to account for your boxing, then you would set .5lbs. here.

Making A Web Site Use A Different IP Address in Windows XP and Vista

2006-07-27T16:13:00.000-07:00

here is a quick tech tip for making your web browser use a different server to pull up a web site. Say you updated the DNS for your web site and you want to make sure the new server is setup correctly. Do the following:

Go to: c:\windows\system32\drivers\etc\hosts

Edit the hosts file with a text editor, add the following to the end of the file:

IP Addresss You Want Web Site To Use somesite.com

for example it might look like this:

69.16.198.200 itwebexperts.com

you will need one for www.itwebexperts.com too, or the www version of the url, so also put:

69.16.198.200 www.itwebexperts.com

Yep, it's that easy. Save the host file, reload your web browser and that's it.

Google Checkout for Oscommerce

2006-07-27T16:09:00.000-07:00

Google Checkout was released earlier this month and already there is the first Oscommerce Google Checkout payment module. Should you install it? Well the verdict is not yet. We would hate to see you waste your time installing it and then see that it doesn't have the features you need. The current payment module available here as of 7/27/06 does not have the following features:

It doesn't record the order to the Oscommerce admin
It doesn't handle taxes or shipping charges

We will update this blog soon to announce when the next Google Checkout is releases that handles these version 2.0 features.

Great Firefox Extensions

2006-05-19T10:28:00.000-07:00

I was really impressed by these Firefox extensions. Check them out.

Web Development Toolbar: The first one adds an amazing variety of testing tools to the Firefox toolbar for web development. These include CSS/HTML/XHTML validation, tools for enabling/disabling CSS, Cookies, Javascript, Images, Java, Frames, Flash, and resizing the window to standard monitor resolutions. Another great feature is outlining tables and table cells to help you align pages. Check it out: https://addons.mozilla.org/firefox/60/

IE In Firefox: The next extension is very handy for those of us who love Firefox tabbed browsing and don't want to open up the IE browser for testing, or for incompatible web sites like MSN Shopping or Quickbooks. This extension allows you to render a web page IN Firefox using the IE rendering engine. This is also handy for web sites that are still only viewable in IE :( such as Quickbooks online and a few other online applications. Check it out here: https://addons.mozilla.org/firefox/1419/

Snapper Screenshots: We all need to take screenshots from time to time of a web site, whether it be for testing, or to do mockups. Snapper helps you select only the area you want of your screen rather than taking the whole thing, and it saves it right to where you want it rather than having to open up Photoshop and then paste it and save it, thus saving you time. Check it out here: https://addons.mozilla.org/firefox/2703/

Tech Support LOL

2006-04-20T17:53:00.000-07:00

Ever had the fun of trying to call tech in support in India and actually resolve your problem?

Great funny video clip from Conan O'Brien

Google Analytics Web Hit Statistics

2006-04-19T15:49:00.000-07:00

Make sure to sign up for Google Analytics and get on the waiting list. From reviewing the Google Analytics package with clients for whom we have installed their code, the results are extremely detailed and valuable for increasing traffic to your web site and measuring your marketing results. Sign up here: http://www.google.com/analytics/

Once you get your invitation to join Google Analytics we can install the code for you in around 1 - 2 hours depending on how many pages your web site has, and if you need result tracking installed for different pages.

CODiE Awards

2006-04-19T15:42:00.000-07:00

Just found this web site with a great listing on software. Looking for a particular tool to manage your business, whether it be CRM, ERP, or even a simple PDF tool? Check out who the Software & Information Industry Association gave their top awards to and it may help you find a good software application.

The 20th Annual SIIA CODiE Awards - 2005

Web 2.0 How Can I Use It For My Business?

2006-04-18T17:55:00.000-07:00

Web 2.0 is a big buzzword being thrown around right now. Basically it is the tools and methodology including:

Open framework - allow other sites and people to use information from your web site
User generated content - this enables your site to grow, evolve, and engage your user
Interactivity - Blogs, forums, wikipedia, chats

Technology

AJAX technology - allows your web site to act more like a desktop application, including ability to edit HTML, load pictures, and more without reloading the web page.
RSS site feeds - feeds from your site can be displayed on other web sites
Open API - data from your web site can be interacted with from other software applications

Our Favorite Web 2.0 Web Sites
You Tube: User submitted videos. Easy to share and comment.
Technorati: Pulls posts from many different blogs and rates the top blogs.
Digg: User submitted news articles. Users vote on their favorite articles, and those articles appear higher on the web site.
Tech Crunch: A site that reviews Web 2.0 applications.
Google Maps: Uses AJAX to pull map data without reloading the entire web page.
Google Gmail: Great use of AJAX and RSS feeds of what is in your inbox.
WikiPedia: Free user edited encyclopedia

Getting Real Web Development Methods

2006-04-18T17:49:00.000-07:00

Getting Real is a term coined by the web applications company 37signals.com. This web development company mainly works on hosted applications like project management, chat, and personal organization. I thought I would share some of the excellent points made in their eBook Getting Real, and how it is benefiting I.T. Web Experts web development company:

More features do not make a web site or web application better, they can actually kill it. For every new feature you add, first think: does this feature really make my site more useful? Or might it confuse people?
People are always thinking of adding new features, what about removing old features that are not that useful and distract people?
Google is an excellent example of simplicity and not adding to many features. When they do add new products, notice that they don't fill up the google.com homepage with all that junk.
Use Epicenter Design. What is Epicenter Design? It is designing starting with what is most crucial for your web application. For example, if designing a web calendar, the calendar could still work without email reminders. But it wouldn't be a calendar without the ability to add events to it.
Do away with gant charts and useless graphs. Work on actually getting the work done. A good process is sketch > HTML mockup > Final Site. Don't worry about mapping out the backend, start with the front-end first.
If you can't meet your project timeline, reduce the number of features or increase the deadline. Don't try and meet the same deadline with the same number of features, or the quality of the project in its entierty will be reduced.
Make sure your application has a good blank state. What is blank state? It is when your application has no data in it. Someone might sign up for your application and be confused on what it is actually supposed to look at or do. Putting in blank state example screens of what the data will look like once they enter it will help them visualize what they are doing.
Work in small software teams. This reduces the amount of commuication paths.
Focus your software on a niche rather than trying to outdo your competion with a thousand more features. Niche software fills needs better than the "do it all" type approach for everyone.
Worry about scaling problems later on ("what if we get a million customers?"). Your first problem is getting the number of customers for your web site so that you need to scale, that is the harder chore.

Overall I highly recommend the eBook "Getting Real" by 37signals.com. A great read for any web developer or I.T. realted company.

Backpack - Personal Information Organizer

2006-04-18T11:32:00.000-07:00

Tired of making to do lists on your notepad? Need to share information simple to do lists or documents? I've really enjoyed using backpack for personal organization. It includes features like to do list, notes, image uploads, links, and a reminder system. Sort of like an online Palm Pilot.

www.backpackit.com

Online File Storage

2006-04-18T10:52:00.000-07:00

So with all those online storage solutions out there, which one should you chose? Well, after trying out a few, namely Xdrive, box.net, drivehq.com, stremload.com, and a few others, here are our reviews:

Top Picks

drivehq.com: probably your best bet for backing up your business data. Nice solid backup utility that ties in nicely with Microsoft Windows.

Streamload.com: mainly geared towards media (music, videos, etc) and nice email attachment features, streamload.com is a great service. They had the largest amount of allowed backup space (25gb free, or if you pay $5/month +, unlimited). Their automated backup features are non-existent though.

box.net: had the cleanest web interface, and nice reasonable prices. No automated backup software yet, but tech support told me it was coming next week.

Average

Xdrive.com: nice clean interface for the web site uploads. However, their automated backup software leaves something to be desired. Uploads failed, and after reviewing their forums it appears to be a common issue. Also it annoyed me that to cancel my account there is no link on the my account section, you actually have to call them. Oh wait now we know why, when you call in you find out they are owned by AOL ;)