Contents
    Webstrike ShopEase

Webstrike ShopEase is the easiest way to create an e-commerce enabled website. It creates complete sites including a homepage, information page, terms & conditions and delivery page, unlimited categories and unlimited products. It supports secure servers and gives you the option of a javascript or CGI product search.

The interface is intuitive and allows you to create professional sites, giving you all the options without the confusing layout. The information you find here has very straight forward and detailed descriptions of how to use the program easily, and exactly what information you need to know.

Once you have created a new shop (or loaded an existing shop), you can use the menu at the top to navigate between option pages (choose 'Option' and then choose the option page you wish to review/modify).

If you do not yet have a hosting provider please click here to read about Webstrike's hosting offer.

Start Menu

General Options

Template Selection

Shop Options

Website Text

Internet Options

Coupons

Category Editor

Product Editor

Building and publishing your site

Webstrike Hosting


General Options

The general option screen looks like this:

Secure Transactions

Secure transactions are definately recommended if you intend to take credit card information over the internet. If you do not have a hosting provider capable of taking secure transactions please see our hosting plan. You can however setup a shop regardless of your hosting providers ability to accept secure transactions. You need to specify either 'Yes' or 'No' depending on your choice. If you do have access to a secure server it is recommended that you choose 'Yes'.

Form Mail

Form mail is necessary to email any information from your website to your email address, including any orders that your customers make. You can either choose to use a form mail script already active on your hosting providers website, or if you have your own CGI directory you can use the form mail script that comes with this program. If you know the details of your hosting providers form mail script it is recommended you use it. More information including what details you need are included in 'Internet Options'. If you are using Webstrike as your hosting provider then choose 'Your Provider' as the form mail option.

Product Search

You have three options for a product search. We recommend that if you have a medium to large shop you do have a product search, as it gives your customers an opportunity to find exactly what they're looking for easily. If you have CGI access (your own CGI directory) we recommend you use a CGI search engine. It is much faster than a javascript search engine. There are no requirements if you use a javascript search engine. If you are hosted by Webstrike then we recommend choosing 'CGI'.

Accepted Payment Methods

Here you can add the payment methods you want your customers to choose from. These can be credit cards, or Cash on Delivery, or any other method you wish to use. To add a method click on 'Add Method' and type in the method you wish to add, to remove a method click on that method in the list and then click 'Remove Method'.

Once you have made your choices here click 'Continue' to go to 'Template Selection'.


Internet Options

The Internet Options page looks like this:

Website Location

FTP Server Address

Put the FTP server address to upload files to. If you are hosted by Webstrike this address is 'www.YOURNAME.com'.

Remote Directory

Put the full remote directory here (this is the directory you want the files to be uploaded to, you will see it if you log in using an FTP client). If you are hosted by Webstrike this address is '/home/htdocs/webstrike/YOURNAME/'. If you leave this blank the files will be uploaded to the directory you are automatically logged into when you log in using an FTP client.

Port

This is nearly always '21'. However, if you are using a hosting provider that has a different port when logging on using FTP please put it here.

Login Username

This is the username you use to log in to the FTP server. If you are using Webstrike this is the same as the domain name you chose e.g. YOURNAME.

Login Password

This is the password you use to log in to the FTP server, your hosting provider will have given you this.

Index Page

This is the default page that loads when someone puts a directory in as a HTTP address. For example, if hosted by Webstrike, you type 'www.YOURNAME.com' into your browser, the file that actually loads is 'www.YOURNAME.com/index.htm'. The 'index.htm' is the Index Page. Therefore, if hosted by Webstrike put 'index.htm' here.

HTTP Addresss

Put the HTTP address that points to the directory you are uploading the files to (the address you put into your browser to access your files). For example, this might be 'http://www.YOURNAME.com/' or it could be 'http://www.YOURNAME.com/tutorial/'.

Form Mail

Depending on your choices in 'General Options', the options you see under Form Mail will change. This covers all possible options you will be asked for.

HTTP Addresss

Put the HTTP address that points to the form mail file. This can be an entire address, or just relative to where you intend to upload the site. For example, an entire address might be 'http://www.YOURNAME.com/YOURNAMEcgi/fmail.pl' while a relative address might be '/YOURNAMEcgi/fmail.pl'.

Redirect Tag

This is the name of the 'Tag' that the form mail script uses to identify what page to load after sending the order. If hosted by Webstrike this tag is 'thankurl'.

Recipient Tag

This is the name of the 'Tag' that the form mail script uses to identify the email address to send an order to. If hosted by Webstrike this tag is 'recipient'.

Subject Tag

This is the name of the 'Tag' that the form mail script uses to identify the subject of an the email it sends when something is ordered. If hosted by Webstrike this tag is 'subject'.

Sendmail Location

This is the location of the application called 'Sendmail', if you have chosen to use the ShopEase form mail script, then you will need to know where on your hosting providers server the application 'Sendmail' is.

Secure Server

FTP Server

Put the FTP server address of your secure server, to upload files to. If you are hosted by Webstrike this address is 'iicinternet.com'.

Remote Directory

Put the remote directory here (this is the directory you want the files to be uploaded to, you will see it if you log in using an FTP client). If you are hosted by Webstrike there is no need to put anything here.

Port

This is nearly always '21'. However, if you are using a hosting provider that has a different port when logging on using FTP please put it here.

Login Username

This is the username you use to log in to the secure FTP server. If you are using Webstrike this is the same as the domain name you chose e.g. YOURNAME.

Login Password

This is the password you use to log in to the secure FTP server, your provider will have given you this.

HTTP Addresss

Put the HTTP address (a directory) that points to the files uploaded to the secure FTP server. This must be an entire address, if using Webstrike you would enter 'https://secure.iicinternet.com/YOURNAME/'.

CGI

CGI Directory

This is the name of the CGI directory that you will need if using a CGI search engine, or using the ShopEase form mail script. This should be the full directory you see when you log in using an FTP client and go to the CGI directory, for example, if hosted by Webstrike the address would be '/home/htdocs/webstrike/YOURNAME/YOURNAMEcgi/'.

Perl Script

This is the location of the application which runs the perl (CGI) scripts, if you have chosen to use the ShopEase form mail script, or are using the CGI search engine then you will need to know where it is so perl applications can be run. You need to get this information from your hosting provider. If using Webstrike the perl script location is: '/usr/bin/perl'.

CGI Web Directory

This is the HTTP address (a directory) that points to the files uploaded to the CGI Directory on your web server. This must be an entire address, if using Webstrike you would enter 'http://www.YOURNAME.com/YOURNAMEcgi/'.

See http://www.webstrike.com.au for pricing and information regarding our hosting. We are extremely competitive world wide. Our servers are fast and based in the US.

If you already have a hosting provider and are unsure how to get all this information please note that you can download an FTP client (try FTP Works at http://www.corbanware.com/, you can download a lite version for free) and login using your username and password to both your server, and the secure server, by negotiating directories you can get the majority of the information needed. Alternatively, you can email your hosting provider asking them for the information.

 Important Note: Don't forget to fill out the fields in the same way as specified in this help file. You can also hit the 'Load Webstrike Settings' button, and then change the information to suit you, being sure to put the information in the same format.

Now press 'Continue' to go to the Coupons page.

Coupons

The coupons page is very straight forward. To add a coupons page simply enter information in any of the five coupons on screen. If you do not enter any information a coupons page will not be generated. If you have entered a coupon and decided you no longer want coupons simply remove the text in the coupon. You cannot have more than five coupons on the coupon page.

Now press 'Continue' to go to the 'Category Editor'.


Category Editor

The Category Editor looks like this:

Adding Categories

To add a category simply click in the box which says 'Type New Category Name Here', and type in your category name. Now click 'Add'. You will see it has been added to the list of categories.

Deleting Categories

To delete a category simply click on the category you wish to delete in the list, then click on the 'Delete' button. You will see that it has been removed from the category list. Please note, by doing this you will also delete any products within that category.

Renaming Categories

To rename a category simply click on te category you wish to delete in the list, then click on the 'Rename' button. You will be prompted for the new category name. Type it in then press 'Done', you can press 'Cancel' if you don't want to rename the category.

Modifying Products

To modify products in a category simply choose the category in the list and press 'Modify Products'. You will now be taken to the 'Product Editor'.


Website Text

The Website Text section looks like this:

Here you can modify the text that appears on the 'Information Page', 'Delivery, Terms and Conditions Page', 'Homepage' and the 'Footnote' that appears on most pages.

You can use HTML code here. It is recommended that you put <b> at the start of each heading and </b> at the end of each heading, this makes it bold. When you press return ShopEase will automatically put <br> at the end of the line, this is HTML code for a paragraph mark (the next text goes on to the next line).

Use the list at the left to choose which page you wish to edit.

Then press 'Continue' to go to the 'Internet Options' page.


Template Selection

The template selection screen looks like this:

To choose a template simply click on the template name in the list on the left hand side. A sample of the template style will be displayed. Whichever template you have chosen in the list will be the one your shop will look like. Now click on 'Continue' to go to the 'Shop Options' section.

If you wish to create your own template go to the directory you installed ShopEase to, then go into the 'Templates' directory. Make a copy of the 'Default' template (located in the 'Default' directory). Rename the 'Copy of Default' directory to the name of the template. You can now edit the files within the new directory. We recommend using Macromedia Dreamweaver as you can change the layout of the files without disrupting the scripts that provide functionality to the website.


Start Menu

This section contains information on:

Building a new shop;

Modifying an existing shop;

Deleting a shop;

Renaming a shop.

The Start Menu looks like this:

Building a new shop

To start a new shop click on 'Build New Shop'. You will then be asked to give the shop a name. Type in the name of the shop (this name will appear on various pages throughout your website), so make it your working business name (e.g. Webstrike Marketing). After typing it in, press 'Done'. You will now be taken to the 'General Options' section.

Modify an existing shop

To load an existing shop click on 'Modify an Existing Shop'. You will then see a screen that looks like this:

Choose the shop in the list that you wish to modify. Then press 'Load Shop'. You will be taken to the 'Category Editor'. You can also Delete a shop here or Rename a shop (change the name of a shop). To do this simply choose the shop you wish to delete or rename and click on the appropriate button. If you pressed 'Delete' all saved information about that shop will be deleted, any websites built for that shop will also be deleted. If you pressed 'Rename' you will be prompted for a new shop name. Type in the new shop name and press 'Done', you can also 'Cancel' if you have changed your mind.


Shop Options

The shop options screen looks like this:

Filling out the options

There are no tricks to filling out these options. Simply click on the box where you want to write the appropriate information. You cannot however change the 'Shop Name'. To rename your shop you must go to load shop and rename it there.

You must fill out the general information email address and the order email address, however, they can be the same address if you prefer. The general information email address is the address that customers will send queries to, only orders will be sent to the order email address.

To choose a large logo click on 'Browse' and choose the graphics file you want to use as your large logo, do the same for the small logo.

Now click 'Continue' to go to the 'Website Text' section.


Product Editor

The Product Editor looks like this:

Editing an item

To edit an item simply type in the details of that item. Details include Product Name, Product Description, Price, Product Number, and Image file (if there is an image of the product). You can press the browse button to find the image if you wish. When you have chosen an image, a smaller version of the image will be displayed on the right hand side of the item information.

Add Item

To add an item press the 'Add Item' button. A new item will be added to the list of items.

Delete Item

To delete an item first choose that item by clicking on it (the chosen item is the blue item), now press the 'Delete Item' button. This will delete the item in question.

Change Category

If you wish to change categories without pressing the 'Category Editor' button, simply click on the drop down list box beside the 'Item Category:' heading. You can now click on the category you wish to edit. Now press the  'Change Category' button.

To go back press the 'Category Editor'. You can also use the 'Options' menu at the top of the window (next to 'File') to move throughout the different options screens. When you have finalised all the options press the 'Build' button.

Building your shop

Once you have filled out all the options press the 'Build' button (at the top of the window next to 'Options'. This will build your shop. Please review it. You will notice that in the registered version the purchase page will not function until you have published the shop. In the unregistered version the publish feature is disabled, and the purchase page will not function if you move it from the local directory.

Publishing your shop

Once you have built the shop and are happy with it, you can publish it. To do this simply hit the 'Publish' option (at the top of the window next to 'Build'. This will upload it to the servers you nominated in 'Internet Options'. Once the upload is complete, when you put the address of your web space into the browser you should see a fully functional shopfront. Congratulations! You have just created an e-commerce enabled website.


Webstrike Hosting

Webstrike Hosting is available world wide for very competitive rates. We only have one plan, which includes access to a secure server, your own CGI directory, and everything you need to set up your e-commerce website.

Please visit http://www.webstrike.com.au for more our latest pricing. We support international domains, and our servers are based in the United States.