HostedStore Features Overview

A brief overview of HostedStore features is listed below. Some features of the application have dedicated pages that provide more detailed information. The navigation menu at the bottom of the page contains hyperlinks to each of the features pages. If more information is needed please contact us using the information request form or directly via email.

Storefront

• All of the storefront content is generated from format files that can be modified by the end user.
• Customizable HTML templates are provided for the store look. Select a template or easily create a custom template following the instructions provided in the documentation.
• The store home page displays featured products and favorite products (top selling products based upon actual store sales). The number of featured and favorite products to display can be easily modified.
• Products may have related products identified to display up-sell, cross-sell, or necessary accessory items to the customer.
• Multiple content pages can be used to display product information.
• A static cart display on all pages provides the customer with a constant summary of the number of items in the cart and the subtotal of the cart.
• The shopping cart display helps eliminate abandoned carts by provided order total including shipping and tax.
• Multiple shopping carts can be saved with a unique name for later recovery and purchase from a different computer.
• Built-in help center can be modified to describe all aspects of the store order process, account administration, and store policies to help eliminate the need to address recurring customer service questions.
• Address book allows customers to save multiple shipping addresses to facilitate a quicker and friendlier checkout process.
• Recurring orders can be saved as a shopping list to save time selecting frequently purchased products.
• Email notifications for all steps of the order process (credit card approved, order processing, order shipped, and order cancelled) keep the customer informed and simplify store administration.
• The online order tracking provides 24/7 customer service. Customers can view past/current orders, obtain shipping status, obtain tracking numbers, and cancel orders.
• Support for HTML meta tags and static page generation to aid in search engine positioning.

Order Processing

• Support for credit cards, checks (online and via phone/mail), purchase orders, and PayPal provide customers with multiple payment options. Accepted payment types can be configured to match the policies of the store.
• Support for real-time credit card processing via multiple payment gateways. The processing process can be easily modified to support additional payment gateways.
• The entire order process supports the use of SSL encryption so customer information is secure. Account numbers are stored encrypted and can be purged from the database when no longer needed.
• Modifiable shipping calculation script allows for generalized calculations based upon total price, total weight, and fixed rate or product specific calculations based upon price, weight, and fixed rate. Ability to include any additional pricing to recover costs like labor for processing, packing materials, etc.
• Modifiable tax calculation script supports different tax rates for multiple cities, states/provinces/regions, and countries.

Product Management

• Definable categories and multiple subcategories allow for complex catalog hierarchies.
• Support for multiple price levels: MSRP, standard price, sale price, and member price.
• Each product can have its own quantity ranges that equate to volume price discounts.
• Products may have unlimited attributes that can be defined-there are not simply just size and color. Get creative and use the attributes to add service plans, optional gift wrapping, monogramming, and more. Attributes can have value added pricing to add or subtract from the base price based upon the customer's selections. Attributes can also incorporate other products and have the other product's inventory properly adjusted.
• Product image upload feature that will upload several images simultaneously through the Web browser. More convenient than FTP when just adding a few products.
• An image report matches products in the database to images on the server and provides warnings about missing images or products that have not been entered into the database.
• Products are automatically removed from the catalog of available products if a definable inventory threshold is reached. Option to override product removal action so that out of stock items are displayed to the customer, but with purchasing capability disabled. Alternatively, out of stock items can be purchased but the customer will be notified that the product is back ordered via a global or product specific out of stock message.
• Definable purchase limits per item or per customer.
• Inventory enforcement of limited stock items.
• Definable product dependencies/restrictions to dictate what other products must be purchased with an item..
• Current inventory levels for all products can be modified simultaneously with one form.
• Suggested inventory order report based upon defined build-to amounts and current inventory.

Order Management

• Line item status modification allows ordered items to be individually cancelled, back ordered, or shipped.
• Notification by email when a customer has placed or cancelled an order eliminates the need to constantly log into store administration to check for new orders.
• Post order adjustments can be made to the order subtotal, shipping cost, tax cost, and promotional discount. Batch adjustments can also be made to the order when batching against a third-party report.

Affiliate Management

• Assigns orders to an affiliate based upon their unique definable affiliate ID.
• Different percentages or fixed monetary values can be assigned to individual affiliates.
• Management reports provide affiliate sales summaries.
• Generate unique URLs to track the success of individual marketing campaigns.
• Online affiliate management give affiliates direct access to their sales reports.
• Track affiliate payouts.

Coupon/Promotion Management

• Versatile system can be used for individual coupons or promotions, discounts for customers that have accumulated membership points, gift certificates, and tracking of marketing campaigns.
• Time/date stamp promotions to offer limited time coupon offers to customers.
• Automate marketing promotions by auto-sending coupons to new customers, customers that purchase specific items, all customers during a time period, etc.

Mailing List Management

• Customers may subscribe to a store newsletter during creation of their account or later in account management. Subscribe and unsubscribe commands are emailed directly to the list management software.
• Compose and send customer notifications within HostedStore to a specific customer, to all customers, or to newsletter subscribers.

Comprehensive Reporting

• Sales conversion reports track the number of times a product is viewed, placed in a cart, and purchased. The data can be helpful in determining the successful conversion of curious shoppers to buyers.
• Reports of top selling products, top customers, total sales, costs, profit margins, and tax liability help to maximize store profitability.
• Custom reports can be built if an external reporting application is not an option.

Modular Component Structure

• Each of the major features in HostedStore uses a modular structure that allows individual features to be toggled on or off to match current and future business needs.
• Access to the content pages allows for development of hooks into newly developed features-either your own, from a third party, or from HostedStore. Some modules are already available for download from the HostedStore Web site. See the module directory for a list of modules currently available from third parties and/or HostedStore.

Extensibility

• Open format files support insertion of custom code or modification of default code for the store content pages.
• A system of hooks is provided that allows developers to insert their custom code directly into the code of the core application. Using hooks, sections of HostedStore code can even be disabled and developers can bypass blocks of code or insert their own code to override default functionality.
• Third party developers can create and distribute modules that can be inserted into the store core code, the store administration configuration pages, and the content pages to add functionality or alter existing functionality.