Setting Customer and Invoice Number

Setting the customer number and invoice number for your store is an important step when configuring your store. These settings MUST be done before you sell a product (create an invoice) and/or customer record. Once a invoice has been created you can not go back and change these settings.

The following video will walk you through the process of setting you starting customer number and starting invoice number for your store.

ProStores User Guides

Download these ProStores User Guides and keep them handy for help with setting up and maintaining your ecommerce hosted store. These and other user guides are also available from the Help/Online Guide link found in the upper right hand corner of store administration pages.

• Quick Start
• Comprehensive User Guide
• StoreSync User Guide
• Designer's Reference
• SSML Object Reference
• SSML Support Reference
• Online SSML Support Reference
• ProStores PA-DSS – Store Implementation Guide

eCommerce Shipping Knowledge Base Articles

Search the ProStores knowledge base for additional articles related to ecommerce Shipping
 
Search Knowledge Base - Shipping Articles

Electronic Payment Processing Knowledge Base Articles

Search the ProStores knowledge base for additional articles related to electronic payment options for Payment Processing and the ProStores application.
 
Search Knowledge Base - Payment Processing Articles

eCommerce Product Management Knowledge Base Articles

Search the ProStores knowledge base for additional articles related to Product Management and the ProStores application.
 
Search Knowledge Base - Product Management Articles

Custome eCommerce - Store Design Knowledge Base Articles

Search the ProStores knowledge base for additional articles related to Store Design and the ProStores application.  Go to the Store Design section of ProStores knowledge base to find how to custom design to your ecommerce store.

Search Knowledge Base - Store Design Articles

ProStores 9.2 FAQ

9.2 Release Notes
PayPal Website Payments Standard Enhancements
Logo Generator Enhancement
Retiring of Store Themes
Security Enhancements

9.2 Release Notes

Where can one learn more about what’s new in version 9.2
Details about changes with the latest release are available by navigating to the “What’s new” section on the lower right section of the home page in store administration.  Click on the “What’s new for 9.2” link to view the release notes.

PayPal Website Payments Standard Enhancements

Why are line item details not included in some transactions?
Invoices that include negative line items (i.e. store credit or flat $ promotion discount) will not support the new functionality.  Those invoices will include the summary amounts as with previous versions.

Will these changes affect how PayPal Express Checkout and PayPal Website Payments Pro function?
The enhancements do not change or affect the current PayPal EC or PayPal Pro functionality.

Logo Generator Enhancement

Where does one find the online new logo generator tool?
From store administration, navigate to Store Design > Design Settings > Logo > Change > click the “create one in minutes” link

Is there size limit for the generated image in a logo?
The maximum size of generated images will have a max width of 1024 and a max height of 768.

What image file formats are supported?
The logo generator supports the following image file formats:
jpg, .gif, .png, .bmp

Store Themes Retiring

Which themes have been retired?
These themes have been retired with v9.2:

laundry
ledger
legal
liberty
livingroom
lunar
mail
martini
medicine
monster
moxy
musicstore
patio
petzone
photography
piano
pottery
powder
roadwork
rockclimbing
rooster
saintpatty
sheetmusic
slinky
southwest
sportswatch
stamps
supply
sushi
teenage
tennis
thanksgiving
tools
travel
vineyard
vintage
walk
watches
wedding
western
winecountry
wireless

Can I continue to use a theme even if has been retired?
You may continue to use this theme even after it is retired. You may also continue to utilize the "Revert to Baseline" and "Revert to Original Version" Page Template Manager features once the theme is retired.

We strongly recommend, however, that you save a copy of the store version utilizing a retired theme before making any edits. See the ProStores Knowledge Base for details on making a copy of a store version. The copied store version will prevent accidental loss of the retired theme when performing store design edits in the future. If you overwrite the store version utilizing a retired theme with a new theme, you will not be able to go back to the previously used retired theme. Do not change a store theme from a retired theme to a new theme unless you are certain you never plan to use it again. Retired themes are no longer available for selection in the Store Design Hub.

Security Enhancements – Visa Payment Application Best Practices (PABP) updates

Why do secondary users see messages about expired passwords?
ProStores modified secondary user account requirements to become compliant to the Visa Payment Application Best Practices (PABP) V1.4.  Secondary users (users added through Store Administration > Store Settings > Users) now need to change their password every ninety (90) days. 

What are the password requirements for secondary users?
Secondary users now have the following requirements for their passwords:

• Seven character minimum length
• Alphabetic and numeric characters required in password
• Password must change every 90 days
• Four previous passwords cannot be reused
• Account locked after six invalid login attempts for 30 minutes or until reset by main user

How do you change or reset a password for a secondary user?
Primary users (original ProStores user profile) can add and edit secondary user profiles.  Navigate to Store Administration > Store Settings > Users to update secondary user profiles and passwords.

Why do I need to keep logging in to access store administration?
ProStores modified secondary user account requirements to become compliant to the Visa Payment Application Best Practices (PABP) V1.4.  Secondary users (users added through Store Administration > Store Settings > Users) need to login after 15 minutes of inactivity. 

How does a merchant configure their store to be PCI compliant?
The responsibility for PCI compliance does not stop with ProStores, or with the payment processing system you chose to use.  PCI compliance is the responsibility of anyone and everyone who is collecting, transmitting and/or storing credit card information.  Merchants are responsible for conducting and managing their business in a PCI compliant manner.  The ProStores PA-DSS - Store Implementation Guide is available to assist merchants.  This document details the various settings, controls and steps a merchant should take to ensure PCI compliance.

Download the ProStores PA-DSS – Store Implementation Guide at:
https://store01.prostores.com/storeadmin/en_US/PADSSImplementation.pdf

Where can one learn more and ask questions about PCI and/or PADSS certification and compliance?
Additional information regarding PCI and PADSS is available in this thread on the ProStores discussion board:

Have PCI & PA-DSS questions? Ask the experts! PSC & ProStores to answer your questions

Security experts from ProStores and PSC participate in the discussion regularly.

NOTE: PABP is now re-named as PA-DSS.

Blackthorne

In addition to the 9.2 release, ProStores merchants who are also eBay sellers can now take advantage of our integration with eBay Blackthorne listing and sales management tools.  Visit the Blackthorne FAQ if you are not currently using Blackthorne.

eCommerce Best Practices - Creative Content and Conversion

Here are some content pieces of your store to think about and ecommerce best practices that can help you improve your store conversion rate. 
 

Store URL 
 
Be sure to have a store url that is short and easy to remember.
 
If you recently signed up for ProStores you may still qualify to receive a new domain name free of charge for the first year – or for a transfer of one you already own – Contact technical support to learn more.  You can also “point” a url you already own at your ProStores store – learn more.
 
Store Logo
 
Make sure you have a store logo that isn't too big. The logo size should not be so big as to push important information below the fold.

Store Slogan
 
Since you know your business best, please take a little time to come up with a three line description for your store that ideally captures what is unique about your product offering or business.

If you are doing pay-per-click campaigns, follow these simple rules to improve the effectiveness or use of your advertisements:

• Never use an exclamation mark in the Headline
• Use no more than one exclamation mark in Line 1 and Line 2
• Do not use the words “The Best” or “#1”
• Do not capitalize all the letters in your advertisements

Conversion Best Practices
 
Your product list page - the page that displays lists of products when some one clicks a category or searches on your storefront - as well as your single product detail page within your store are just as important to optimize for content and design in order to improve conversion.

Once product information is optimized then spend time on your cart and checkout flow and then the overall design and navigation of your store. No doubt, it is important to optimize your entire store with both eyes on conversion – however, we would suggest following the flow of the shopper to give you guidance on where to spend your time first.
 
Product List Layout and Information

• Make sure all products have appropriately sized thumbnail and product detail images. All thumbnails should be the same size across the store. Do not use the same size image for both thumbnail and large image. Make sure image quality is good (not washed out, poorly cropped, unprofessional, etc).

 

• Use a product list layout that flows with the rest of your site design and navigation. In most instances image on right with the brief description and price/add to cart on left in a single column list is the best option.

 
This option allows you to take full advantage of the product brief description to potentially give buyers enough information on this page to make a purchase decision.
 
Sometimes two-column or three-column product list layouts are appropriate – and can give you a very appealing design that allows the buyer to scan over more products on a single page with less scrolling. The trade-off is that including a brief description that is too long on these layouts often yields a cluttered page.
 
If you are using a multi-column layout, try to limit the brief description to no more than 100 characters.
 
In all cases, do not vary the font type, color and size across description fields or products/categories – stay consistent with your overall design. Finally, as pointed out above, ensure ALL of your thumbnail images are the same size and small enough to fit within your design perimeters.
 

•  Use a product detail page layout that ensures the Buy and Add to Cart buttons are above the fold (shopper doesn’t need to scroll down or left/right to view it). A safe choice is the layout with the Buy/Add to Cart button in the upper right with the product image is on left and the description below both

 
 

• If importing your products from eBay (as listings) try to go through them and remove the various links, counters, selling tools, and other elements that are specific to sales on eBay but do not apply to sales on your ProStores web store.

 
It’s a good idea to move your shipping, return, payment and other policies to a single Customer Service or Policies page on your ProStores web store.
 
We also highly recommend that you update your text typeface, colors, and sizes in your product description that might have been carried over from importing your eBay listings to be consistent with your overall ProStores store design.
 

• Practice constraint when creating your top level categories as well as subcategories. In most instances 20-30 top level categories is the max you will want to use with most designs. If the shopper must scroll up/down extensively to view the full list of categories and the footer (information at the bottom of your store) then you likely have too many categories in your store.

 
Consider using a design theme with collapsible sub-categories – all of the newer “Contemporary” themes have this built in. 

Product images

Use appropriately and uniformly sized images that present your product in a professional manner. 

Product thumbnail images
Product thumbnail images appear on the product list or search result pages.  A product list page may look disorganized and unprofessional if it includes images of multiple sizes.  Additionally, depending on your layout they could push content off the right side of your store requiring buyers to scroll to see all of the page content if they are too wide.  A good rule of thumb is to make all of your thumbs the same size - or at least the same width.   ProStores can automatically generate uniformly sized thumbnails from your product images based on your preferences when the images are uploaded through the Upload Images options.  Check or modify your settings by go to Store Administration > Product > List > Product Preferences.

A maximum width of 200 pixels is a good guideline for thumbnail images if you are using a single column or 2-column layout. If you are using a 3-column layout on your Product List page, then shoot for 100 to 150 pixels max.

Product detail images
Product detail images appear on the product detail page.  This is usually the page where a buyer makes the "buy" or "pass" decision.  The quality of the product image may have a significant impact on that decision.   Images that are blurry, dark, washed, cluttered, too small, too large, or unprofessional in any other manner may negatively influence the buyer’s decision.

A maximum width of 400 pixels is a good guideline for product detail images.  This size provides enough detail without overpowering the page and possibly affecting the page layout for the buyer.

ProStores can automatically generate uniformly sized product detail images based on your preferences when the images are uploaded through the Upload Images options.  This process also provides an option to create uniform sized thumbnails at the same time. Check or modify your settings by going to Store Administration > Product > List > Product Preferences. 

Image quality
Use images that are clear, sharp, with proper lighting and a clean background.

Review these photography tips and tutorials for additional information.

Additional Tip: Avoid using special characters ("-" and "_" are ok) or blank spaces in your image file names.
 
Shopping Cart and Checkout
 

• Review your checkout flow and ensure there are NO BROWSER SECURITY WARNINGS. Practice caution when loading third party code and images to your header and footer pages – these pages are used both in your store and in your cart/checkout flow. Loading unsecure images and code causes browsers to throw security warnings to shoppers and to display the security lock icon as unlocked or with a red explanation point. A good way to avoid security warnings caused by unsecure images is to host any images you want to include on your store with ProStores instead of a third party host – and be sure to use SSML tags to display the images. Learn more. 

 

• Enable estimated shipping to be displayed on your cart. Most internet shoppers are savvy and expect to be presented their shipping charges before they checkout. If you are using product level shipping this is enabled automatically. If you are using common (storewide) shipping then you must enable this display (found on the Shipping Preferences page in store admin).

 

• Verify SSL security is enabled on your checkout pages - “Enable SSL on order process” should be checked (Store Settings > Payment Prefs > Storewide Preferences > Security)

 
Every ProStores account includes SSL secured checkout pages by default.  ProStores provides a shared SSL certificate for use on checkout pages.  Merchants also have the option to purchase a dedicated SSL certificate if they do not want to use the ProStores shared SSL certificate.  In either case, you must have this option enabled to protect your buyers. 
 

• Provide buyers the option to checkout without creating an account.  Enable the anonymous checkout option.  Select the “Provide customers the option to sign in” option as the “Checkout Options:’ setting.  (Store Settings > General > Shopping Cart and Checkout Options > Checkout Options)

 

• Practice caution when loading images, text and other items at the top of the cart that could cause the contents of the cart and/or the ‘Checkout’ button to appear below fold.

 

• Evaluate from the shoppers perspective whether it is a better experience to be taken to the cart directly when adding an item or to stay on the same page with a message confirming the Add to Cart action.

 
If the Add to Cart confirmation icon in the Design Theme or Page Layouts you’re using is hidden or at the bottom of the page it might confuse the shopper such that they don’t know for sure if the item was added to the cart or not.
 
To be safe, select the “send buyer to cart” option so that they know for sure they were successful in adding the item to their shopping cart. (Store Settings > General > Shopping Cart and Checkout Options > Add to Cart Button)
 

• Evaluate the display of cross sell/up-sell in your cart but ensure all of your products have thumbnail images and that those images are the same size and small enough so as not to break design of your store.

 
Be sure to test and review this – enabling this feature with inappropriately sized images could actually harm your conversion rate.
 

• Determine if having a purchase minimum is appropriate given the products you sell and their price points. If you sell a number of products at $10 each but have a checkout threshold set of $40 will that cause shoppers to leave your store never to return?

Store Design
 

• Review your entire store with your screen/monitor resolution set at 1024x768, the most common screen resolution used. Look for any pages, design elements or content that cause you to scroll left/right – edit whatever you find to eliminate the need to scroll left/right. A common cause is that your images are too big.

 

• Review your store logo and make sure it isn’t too big/small and that the design theme and colors you’re using are coordinated with the colors of your logo.

 

• Chose a theme that has a collapsible category/subcategory navigation if you have more than 15 or so categories or reduce/condense the number of top-level categories you display in order to improve store design and navigation. All of the new “Contemporary” Design Themes have this built in.

 

• Chose a font style and stick with it throughout your store – don’t use too many font sizes or different colors, stay consistent with the overall theme of your store.

 

• Chose a theme that has a search box and displays a shoppers cart contents and checkout links prominently in the header (top or left nav). Again, all of the new “Contemporary” themes have this built in.

 

• Practice restraint when loading images onto your storefront or theme – too many and shoppers will leave, too few and they’ll leave.

 
When adding these images make sure they are appropriately sized so as not to break your design – make sure you review EVERY page of your store for this.
 
General/Other
 

• Ensure you have a reasonable amount of information on your About US, Policies, FAQ, Location, etc pages if you have these turned on. Turn these pages on if they are not already on. (Store Design > Design Settings > Page Text > Change)  Shoppers who have never purchased from you before need information on who you are and how you do business. Providing a phone number and physical location or mailing address can help build shopper confidence. 

 
Additional Resources

• Store Design and Conversion Tips
• Offer Anonymous Checkout Option
• Eliminate Browser-generated Security Warnings
• Verify PayPal Standard Payments Account Settings
• Webinar - 16 Steps to Reducing Shopping Cart Abandonment
• Photography Tips and Tutorials

ProStores 9.0 FAQ

Multi-Channel Inventory
eBay Product Sync
Product Level Shipping
Cross-sell/Up-sell Features
Marketing Tools
Google Base Product Feed
Product Images
Product Descriptions HTML Editor
Store Themes and Layouts
Express Store Upgrades to Starter Store
Accessing ProStores Hosting Control Panel

Multi-Channel Inventory

What is Multi-Channel Inventory tracking?
Multi-Channel Inventory tracking lets you offer items for sale on both eBay and ProStores at the same time and virtually eliminates the possibility of over-selling unique or low stock items. If an item is sold on eBay, ProStores will automatically decrement it from ProStores. If the item is sold on ProStores and there are none remaining in stock on eBay, the eBay listing for that item will end
 
Multi-Channel Inventory allows you to list your products on eBay and on ProStores at the same time. In previous versions of ProStores, when an item was listed to eBay and inventory was enabled, the ProStores quantity would be decremented when the item was listed. When Multi-Channel Inventory is enabled, the product quantity will NOT be decremented when an item is listed to eBay. Instead, it will show the quantity on eBay and ProStores and revise the quantity appropriately if the item sells, is revised, or ends on eBay. If there is sufficient quantity to fulfill the order without going to eBay to revise the quantity on eBay, ProStores will fulfill the order solely with the ProStores quantity and not revise the eBay listing.
 
Should I enable Multi-Channel Inventory?
Multi-channel inventory tracking may be a helpful tool if you meet these conditions:

• Want to manage and track inventory quantities between ProStores products and eBay listings
• Inventory is enabled for your store
• Manage accurate inventory quantity levels
• Do not allow backorders (Advanced store option)
• Willing to re-create eBay listings that were created prior to enabling the option

The Multi-Channel Inventory option may not be necessary or appropriate if one of more of these conditions is an obstacle with your current operations.
 
Make certain to read the ‘Learn More’ information on the eBay Sync Preferences screen before enabling the option. 
 
How do I enable Multi-Channel Inventory?
Go to Product> eBay> Setup> eBay Sync Preferences.
 
Why are inventory quantities in ProStores not changing with eBay activity after enabling the Multi-Channel Inventory Tracking option?
Multi-channel inventory tracking functions only under certain conditions.  Products are eligible for multi-channel processing under the following situations:

• Multi-Channel Inventory is enabled and an item is listed to eBay from ProStores. If Multi-Channel Inventory is disabled and an item is listed, that particular listing will not be eligible for Multi-Channel Inventory.
• Product sync is enabled and the product was created via an eBay listing.
• Multi-Channel Inventory is enabled and the eBay copy tool is used to create products.
• If an item was listed when Multi-Channel Inventory is enabled and Multi-Channel Inventory is then subsequently disabled, the product quantity will be decremented according to the multi channel inventory rules.

eBay Product Sync

What is eBay Product Sync?
eBay Product Sync enables you to use your favorite eBay listing tool (SYI form, Turbo Lister, Backthorne, or 3rd party listing tools) to create eBay listings and simultaneously add them as products to your ProStores web store.  It also allows eBay listing updates to automatically update the corresponding fields in ProStores.
 
Product sync allows you to create and update your ProStores product catalog automatically when you list or revise items on eBay with an eBay listing tool. With Product Sync enabled, when an item is listed to eBay a product will automatically be created in your ProStores Web store. Multi-Channel Inventory must be enabled in order to enable sync so when products are added to ProStores they will automatically be treated as Multi-Channel.
 
Once the product is created in ProStores, any revisions on eBay to the title, subtitle, description, Buy It Now price, or shipping information will be reflected in the ProStores product.
 
Should I enable eBay Product Sync?
eBay Product Sync may be a helpful tool if you meet the following conditions:

• Multi-Channel Inventory option enabled (required for eBay Product Sync)
• eBay is your primary sales channel
• Preferred eBay listing management and creation is My eBay, the SYI form, Turbo Lister, Blackthorne or other 3rd party tools
• Prepared to re-create ProStores catalog from eBay listings (store created prior to 3/19/08)
• Do not create eBay listings with the ProStores listing tool

The eBay Product Sync option may not be necessary or appropriate if one of more of these conditions is an obstacle with your current operations.
 
Make certain to read the ‘Learn More’ information on the eBay Sync Preferences screen before enabling the option.
 
How do I enable eBay Product Sync?
To enable the eBay Product Sync too, go to Product> Setup> eBay Sync Preferences.
 
What do the different eBay Sync icons indicate?
After the Product Sync option is enabled, three different icons will appear on the product information pages in store administration.
 

The ‘not being synchronized’ (grayed-out) icon displayed when:

• A product is created in ProStores through a traditional process (e.g., add product form, product table import, XTE, etc) and is not eligible for sync with an eBay listing
• A product is created in ProStores with an eBay listing tool and the eBay listing is no longer active on eBay (listing ended on eBay)
• eBay listings created from ProStores with the ProStores listing tool are not eligible for eBay Product Sync (same functionality as pre-v9.0)

The ‘Active’ (color) icon displayed when:

• eBay listing is used to create a product in ProStores  (by QuickStart, Copy Listings tool or eBay Product Sync) and the listing is active on eBay

The ‘Locked” (color with padlock) icon displayed when:

• A product is created in ProStores from an eBay listing (by QuickStart, Copy Listings tool or eBay Product Sync), it is associated with an active eBay listing, and the merchant updated the field in ProStores.  An update in ProStores locks the field in ProStores so a merchant can display different content in ProStores and on the eBay listing.  This prevents subsequent updates made to the eBay listing with an eBay listing tool from overwriting it in ProStores.  Updates applied to a listing through My eBay will flow down and update the ProStores product unless the field is locked in ProStores with an edit.
• Fields cannot be unlocked to support eBay Sync.
• The lock does not prevent one from making additional edits to the ProStores product information.

Why do the product descriptions on the product detail pages include all of the eBay listing content? 
The ProStores tools that create products in your web store from eBay listings will include all content in the eBay listing description field as the product description in ProStores.  This includes design elements and content from custom listing templates.  You can edit the description field in ProStores by navigating to Product Information> Description.
 
Why is a product field ‘locked’ for eBay Product Sync?
Product fields are ‘locked’ from eBay Sync functions once it is edited in ProStores by the merchant.  It cannot be unlocked.  One can still manually apply edits to the ProStores product information through ProStores if eBay listing edits need to be applied to the ProStores product.  
 
Why is eBay Product Sync not available for some of my products in ProStores?
eBay Product Sync only works with products added to ProStores through the QuickStore setup process (new stores created after 3/19/08), ProStores Listing Copy tool, or eBay Product Sync product add.  Products added to ProStores though other methods are not eligible for other product sync functions.
 
Why is eBay Product Sync not working when I create eBay listings from ProStores?
Only eBay listing created outside of ProStores (using eBay SYI form, Turbo Lister, Blackthorne or other 3rd party listing tools) are eligible for eBay Product Sync functions.  You can edit your eBay listings with an eBay tool, but those changes will not update the product information in ProStores.  ProStores product information can be edited independent of the eBay listing created in ProStores.
 
Why are the product changes I make in ProStores not updating my eBay listings after enabling the eBay Product Sync option?
eBay Product Sync does not support sending product updates from ProStores to an active eBay listing.
 
Why are the stock eBay images and descriptions I use in my eBay listings not displayed in ProStores?
eBay stock images and stock descriptions are currently only available for display in eBay listing on the eBay Marketplace.  ProStores does not copy that type of content when using the ProStores QuickStart setup process, the ProStores Retrieve Listings tool or the ProStores eBay Product Sync tool.  The other content in your listing will appear in the ProStores product.

Product Level Shipping

How do I enable unique shipping services for each product (product level shipping)?
Go to Store Settings> Shipping Prefs> Shipping Configuration.  Learn more by watching a video tutorial.
 
How do I update or add shipping service options or rates for individual products?
Add or update product level shipping options
 
Can I configure certain shipping services for some products and use combined shipping services for others?
No.  The shipping configuration setting is global. The two shipping configurations options cannot be enabled simultaneously. The product level flat rate shipping and ‘exclude from shipping charges’ options available with Advanced and Enterprise stores are disabled when product level shipping is enabled.

Will I lose the shipping settings (unique shipping service for each product or common shipping services for all products) when I switch from one shipping configuration to the other?
No.  Your shipping configurations are saved, but they are not visible in store administration or on the storefront.
 
Why doesn’t the product export spreadsheet include the unique shipping services for each product I configured?
The shipping information included with the Product export file is determined by the shipping configuration setting at the time of the export.  If it is set to ‘Configure unique shipping services for each product’, the table will include the 38 additional columns used to support product level shipping options.  If it is set to ‘Configure common shipping services for all products’, the table will not include those columns or records, even if they exist.
 
Can I add product level shipping services with a product table import?
Yes.  If your shipping services are similar for all products, this may be the quickest way to add them to a large catalog.  A suggested approach- configure your product level shipping options for one product, export the product table, copy and paste the shipping information in the last columns of the spreadsheet (header names ‘Irregular’ to ‘InternationalShippingCountryCodes3’) from the configured product to  the rest of your products, then import the updated spreadsheet.  You can update your catalog with product level shipping services using the product import process even if the store is currently configured with ‘common shipping services for all products’.  The product level shipping options will not appear on the storefront or in store administration until the shipping configuration is changed. 

Why are my ProStores shipping promotions no longer working after switching to the ‘Configure unique shipping services for each product’ setting?
Product level shipping uses the shipping promotions configured in your eBay account, not the ProStores configured promotions.  If you are an eBay seller and you have set up shipping discount rules, you may include these discounts in your ProStores shipping calculations. To copy your discount rules into your ProStores Web store, click the Sync Discount Rules button on the Shipping Preferences page.
 
Can I use ProStores shipping promotions with product level shipping enabled?
No.  ProStores configured shipping promotions only support the ‘Configure common shipping services for all products’ shipping configuration.
 
Why do some shoppers see “Combined Services” as the only shipping method during checkout?
When a shopper creates an order that contains products that do not share a common shipping service option (e.g. one heavy/large item set with ‘UPS ground’ as the only delivery service option and the other with several ‘USPS’ delivery options).   The “Combined Services” shipping rate is the sum of the shipping rates for the different shipping services used to support the order.  ProStores defaults to the least expensive delivery service available as the shipping service the other items in the cart.   The shipping service used for the shipping rate calculation is displayed on the cart and invoice page for each item for review by shopper and merchant.
 
Why do shoppers see “Local Pickup: $0.00” as the only shipping option during checkout?
If you have enabled the “Configure unique shipping services for each product” option (product level shipping), your shoppers will see this as the only shipping option if shipping services are not configured for the item in the cart.  “No Shipping: Local pickup only” is the default setting for each product until it is updated by the merchant.
 
Confirm that all of your products have shipping settings configured.

Why do shoppers see "Shipping: $0.00" without any shipping service options when I have configured product level shipping correctly?
If the product level shipping services has been properly configured for your products, you may need to add the new code that supports the product level shipping service options to your cart and various invoice templates for those elements to appear in all areas of your store. This is necessary when you have a customized Cart, Invoice, Invoice Email and/or Invoice Print template. Review the "Why are product level shipping service options not displaying on the Cart, Invoice, Invoice Email or Invoice Print templates after enabling and configuring product level shipping service options?" FAQ for more information.

Why are product level shipping service options not displaying on the Cart, Invoice, Invoice Email or Invoice Print templates after enabling and configuring product level shipping service options? 
Business tier and above merchants that have upgraded to v9.0 from a previous version may not see certain elements of the new product level shipping features on their storefront pages and email communications after enabling the option in store administration.   The new code that generates product level shipping elements and options on various pages was not automatically added to customized templates during the upgrade process.  Product level shipping elements will not automatically appear on the following templates if they have been edited:

• Cart
• Invoice
• Invoice Email
• Invoice Print

The new code must be added to these customized templates in order to support the new product level shipping features and options on the storefront.

Can I print shipping labels from ProStores with the product level shipping services option enabled?
You can print USPS shipping labels through PayPal with the ‘Print USPS Label' option on the ‘Order Ready for Shipping' screen.  FedEx and UPS label printing through ProStores is not currently supported when product level shipping is enabled.

Cross-sell/Up-sell Features

How do I enable the Cross-Sell/Up-Sell feature on the cart page?
To enable the Cross-sell/Up-sell feature go to Store Settings > General > Shopping Cart and Checkout Options > and enable the Cross-Sell/Up-Sell option > click Submit.
 
Why are Cross-Sell/Up-Sell products not displaying on my cart pages after enabling the feature? 
Stores without purchase transaction history, active product sales or related products configured will not display anything until an order is processed.  Best selling product data is calculated nightly.  It may take 12-24 hours after the first transaction before products are displayed on the cart page.
 
If your store was created before 3/19/08 (release date of v9.0 that supported this feature) and you have a customized Cart template, you will need to add the new code that supports the Cross Sell/Up-Sell feature.

Marketing Tools

Where do I find store promotions, email marketing, SEO and comparison shopping tools in store administration now?

Those tools are now located in the new Marketing area of store administration.

Google Base Product Feed

How do I enable or disable the Google Base product feed option that does not require a Google account?
To enable or disable the Google product feed that doesn’t require a Google account, go to Marketing> Comparison Shopping (No account required)> Google Base> Enable Google Base product feed
 
How do I view or manage the Google Base product feeds and reports when using the basic (without a Google account) Google Base product feed?
There is no option to edit product feeds or view reports with the basic version of the Google Base product feed.  Those options are available if you establish a Google account and configure the advanced Google Base feed.
 
How frequently is the Google Base product feed submitted when using the basic (without a Google account) Google Base product feed?
The Google Base product feed (basic version) is generated nightly.  Google retrieves the file every 24-48 hours.  ProStores has no control over the frequency that Google retrieves and processes the feed.

Product Images

Why are the product images I uploaded after the v9.0 upgrade different sizes than the rest of my images?
A default product detail and thumbnail image size option was enabled during the upgrade process. New product images added after the upgrade are automatically resized to predefined sizes (Detail images = 300pix, thumbnails = 100pix) to make it easy to have consistently sized images in the store. You can disable or modify that feature. To update or review product image resize options go to Product> List> Product Settings> Product Image Resize Options.
 
Why are my product images not resizing after enabling or changing the setting?
The tool does not resize existing product images.  Images are resized during the product image import process based on the ‘Product Image Resize Options’ settings at the time of the import.
 
Additionally, images referenced by a URL path on the Product Information> Product Images screen are not resized.
 
How do I review or change the product resize options?
To review or edit product image resize options go to Product> List> Product Settings> Product Image Resize Options.
 
Can I add or update product image URLs with a product table import?
No, product image URLs are not currently supported with the product table export/import tools.

Product Descriptions HTML Editor

Are there any browser requirements to use the product description HTML editor?
Yes, the product description HTML editor is currently only supported with Firefox and Internet Explorer 6.0 browsers.  Internet Explorer 7.0 does not currently support the HTML editor.  IE 7.0 users can still edit product descriptions and include HTML formating, they simply won't see the HTML editing option. The Firefox browser is available at no cost at http://www.mozilla.com.

Store Themes and Layouts

Where can I review the new themes and home page layout options?
You can review the new store themes and home page layouts by navigating to Store Design> Design Settings.  The new store themes are in the ‘Contemporary’ category.  Do not ‘Save and Publish’ if you do not want to overwrite all of your current store design elements. 
 
Tip: Create a new store version and apply the new theme and layouts to the new store version before overwriting your current store design. 

Express Store Upgrades to Starter Store

How do I change the products displayed the home page of a Starter store?
The eight products displayed on the home page of starter stores are randomly selected.  There are no options for managing the displayed products.  Upgrade the Starter store to a Business or above level to gain options to control the product displayed on the home page.
 
Why do all of my products in my upgraded starter store show a quantity of 0 or 1?
A product quantity of One or Zero was assigned to each of your products based upon the quantity setting for the product at the time of the upgrade.  If it was set to ‘In Stock’, your Starter store product will start with a quantity of one (1).  If it was set to ‘Out of Stock’, it will have a quantity of zero (0). 
 
Why do shoppers see this message “The following fields are required or are invalid: product name here (0 Available)” and unable to purchase the product?
This message appears when inventory is enabled and the product quantity is zero (0).  If your store was upgraded to v9.0 with inventory enabled and quantity set to ‘In Stock”, the product quantity started with one (1).  If it was set to ‘Out of Stock’, it started with a quantity of zero (0).  Additionally, a previous purchase may have decremented the inventory to zero (0).
 
Go to Store Settings> Product Prefs> Inventory Preferences to review or modify the inventory tracking setting.
 
Go to Product> List to review or update inventory quantities for your products.
 

How do I access my ProStores hosting account control panel?

One can access the ProStores hosting account control panel froSm the ProStores store administration home page.  Click on the ‘Go to your store hosting account’ link.

 

What else is new in ProStores 9.0:

• Logo Generator: If you don't have a store logo, you can now create one in minutes using the ProStores logo generator! The logo generator allows you to customize a clean, professional looking logo. You can adjust the font size, color and style, add a background, and add a tagline to your logo. Access this feature from Store Design > Logo.
  

Eliminate browser generated security warnings

If you plan on customizing ProStores templates used during the checkout flow, you will want to make sure they do not include design or tracking elements that will generate warning messages. Templates used during the checkout flow include the four Checkout templates, Billing Options, Invoice, Header and Footer templates. These templates are automatically rendered with SSL encryption to provide buyers a secure shopping environment when entering sensitive data. When viewed on the storefront, the URL for these pages changes from ‘http’ to ‘https’.

Most browsers generate some type of warning message if a shopper navigates to a page utilizing SSL encryption that includes any images or code that is referenced by a ‘http’ URL (not ‘https’).



Here are some best practices to eliminate browser generated security warnings when editing templates utilized during the checkout process:

• Store images in your ProStores hosting account and use SSML tags to display them

Example for images uploaded as ‘Shared Images - Category Photo, Manufacturer Logo & Favorites Icon’:
<ss:image source="$store.images['imagenamehere.jpg']"/>

Example for  images uploaded as ‘Shared Images - Product image’:
<ss:image source="$catalog.images['imagenamehere.jpg']"/>

Example for images uploaded as ‘Store Design Images’:
<ss:image source="$storeVersion.images['imagenamehere.jpg']"/>

• Use https URLs when adding 3rd party tracking code
• Use https URLs when adding images that you cannot store in your ProStores hosting account