Indie Communication
Issue 4: Upgrade Preparations Continue, Stay Informed!
Hello IndieCommerce Users,

As indicated in BTW, we have a number of important updates to review this month.  As we progress through our upgrade, it becomes increasingly important that our members are informed of new action items and changes to the interface.  If you have any questions regarding the upgrade, please feel free to contact us at our new address, [email protected].

Thank you for taking the time to read and respond to the materials below
! -- IndieCommerce Staff
Sign Up for Upgrade Email Alerts
As the IndieCommerce team begins to prepare for the upgrade to Drupal 7, booksellers are urged to update their contact information to receive targeted upgrade-specific communications as a way to stay informed at each step of the process.

To sign up for alerts, please click here.

All IndieCommerce stores should sign up at least one address for upgrade-specific communications.

While certain details will be included in our regular monthly newsletter, at times, we will need a direct contact to discuss action items specific to your store.

To sign up for upgrade emails, booksellers must enter an e-mail address, click continue, and complete the registration form on the following page.

Group e-mails will be archived in the ABA message center, located in the upper right corner of the admin toolbar on your IndieCommerce site. When a new action item has been added, the menu link will be highlighted in red.

Our team will begin sending important information regarding themes and Authorize.net accounts as early as next week.
Authorize.net CIM Payment Gateway Module
In order to prepare for the upgrade to Drupal 7, all stores are now required to move to our updated shopping cart utilizing the CIM feature.

The upgraded service was initially released back in November of 2011  and allows customers to simply log into their user account for repeat credit card purchases, rather than entering their credit card information every time they place an order on your site.

How can you tell if you are on the new or the old version?
  • Stores created in 2012 or later have been configured with the updated shopping cart using the CIM feature.
  • Stores that are operating on their own Authorize.net account without the CIM subscription have not been migrated to the new version.  
  • Any store built prior to 2012 that has NOT been upgraded will see a 'Process Card' button in place of the 'charge' link in the payment box.  

If you believe your store is affected by this change, please be sure to sign up for our upgrade email list to ensure delivery of important details. 

All stores must be moved to the new module before March 1st.

Before the Stored Credit Cards For Customers at Checkout option can be activated for your store, your order queue must be cleared of all credit card orders.  We understand that it can be tricky for very active stores to find an appropriate window to make the change, but hope that the time of year, and the ability to utilize PayPal, will help alleviate concerns.

In some cases, stores operating on their own Authorize.net account have not purchased the CIM (Customer Information Manager) add on.  To upgrade to Drupal 7 stores will need to purchase the additional monthly service or move back to ABA's shared Authorize.net account.

As early as next week, our team will be reaching out to affected stores directly with additional details on the configuration process.

If you have questions or concerns, contact us at [email protected], or by phone at 800-637-0037 x2.  

A New Look for Drupal 7?

In order to assess our upgrade schedule, our team has audited all of the current themes on our network.

 

While some themes have a clear upgrade path to Drupal 7, there are some instances where a store may need to switch to a new theme. While you still have quite a bit of time to decide, we wanted to provide as much time as possible to prepare for the changes. Additionally, while we have allowed customized themes on our system, upgrading your theme to Drupal 7 will need to be discussed with your developer directly.

 

Your store will fall into one of the following categories:

  • Theme will migrate to Drupal 7 (No action Required).
  • Theme will not be available in Drupal 7 (Requires selection of new theme).
  • Theme has customizations that will not be migrated to Drupal 7 (Store is responsible for modifying Drupal 7 theme).
  • Custom theme was built for store (Store must discuss upgrade path with developer).

Be sure to sign up for our upgrade-specific mailing list to ensure that you receive proper notifications. 

 

Since your theme is the main component to the look and feel of your website, we understand that some of you may have some concerns about potentially losing your template.

 

Fortunately, Drupal 7 offers a wide range of layouts, many with upgraded tools that will enhance the look and feel of your website. If you would like to explore some of the new themes that are available, please feel free to visit this site, and use the 'switch theme' mechanism to review the options.

 

If you do move to a different theme, please notify [email protected] so we can record the changes in our documentation. Please do NOT select any of the themes that are labeled "NOT AVAILABLE IN DRUPAL 7".

 

Customer Service Reminders
As our team progresses in the upgrade, our staff has been tasked with different projects that may limit their ability to respond to emails in a timely fashion.  To help stores receive responses quickly, we ask that you please follow the guidelines below for contacting our support team.
  • We've created a new email for upgrade-specific communications. For anything related to the upgrade, please email [email protected].   Be sure to read through emails sent from this address and respond when necessary.  Make sure to sign up for our upgrade-specific mailing list.  
  • When submitting inquires, please be sure to include links to the pages in question, specific order numbers, or any error messages you may encounter. 
  • Review the Help Center on BookWeb.org.  It's a great resource with answers to many commonly asked questions.
In This Issue
January 10, 2014
Q&A Spotlight
Q. A customer called to complain about a security error on my website, is my site safe?

A. All of our sites are up to PCI compliance standards, and customers should feel comfortable checking out on your website. 

Likely, the error is being caused by an embedded code in a block that is set to display on secure pages. 

Because embedded content does not 'live' on your URL (the address indicated on your security certificate) it appears as 'insecure content' and causes an error message to appear at checkout.

To correct the issue, the embedded code will need to be recreated and the block configured not to display on secure pages. 

For more information visit the help articles below:
Understanding Blocks
Embedding Code
Security Tips
eCommerce Reads
For those of you who use Constant Contact for email marketing, you may or may not be aware of their Hints & Tips newsletter.  Even if you use other providers like Mail Chimp or Exact Target, many of their articles are beneficial to anyone trying to promote their website.

Their recent post, 35 Creative Ways to Use Images on Facebook contains wonderful tips on marketing your business on Facebook.

It may be trite, but "A picture's worth 1000 words" is appropriate in our growing digital world.  According to the article, images on Facebook receive 120% more engagement than text-only posts.

But what to post is the real question... Get creative!  Not all posts need to be direct-purchase driven.
Here's a few examples from the article:
- Share your favorite quotes
- Give fans a glimpse of the past
- Bad weather? Let people  know you're still open
- Help support a good cause
- Say thanks to your customers

Happy Marketing!
Helpful Links
Follow ABA

Thank you for reading!
We appreciate your patience and cooperation as we work to upgrade our services. 
 
-The IndieCommerce Team
 
P.S. Please don't forget to sign up for our upgrade-specific emails! 
American Booksellers Association | 1-800-637-0037 x 2 | [email protected] |  www.bookweb.org
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Suite S202
White Plains, NY 10604

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