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Using the bCentral™ Commerce Manager Add-In With Microsoft® FrontPage®2000

Introduction

The Microsoft® bCentral Commerce Manager Add-in for FrontPage® web site creation and management tool allows users of FrontPage version 2002 and FrontPage 2000 a simple way to add e-commerce functionality to their FrontPage-based Web site, with a minimal commitment of time and money. With FrontPage, the bCentral Commerce Manager Add-in for FrontPage, and a subscription to the Commerce Manager service, you are able to set up a product database and create e-commerce pages in your FrontPage-based Web site with the exact look and feel that you want your online store to have.

The bCentral Commerce Manager service was designed to help small businesses get started with selling products on their Web site by managing their product catalog and orders online. Optionally, Commerce Manager can help with credit card processing through a simple online interface that is also available. Through the Add-in, small businesses owners can build a database of product information in an online catalog, and then use the bCentral Commerce Manager Add-in for FrontPage to take their online product list and merge them together with fully customizable templates to create the look and feel they want for their online store.

Visitors to the e-commerce pages can use the shopping cart and buy it now buttons provided by the bCentral Commerce Manager service to do their shopping. When a customer is ready to finalize their purchases, the transactions are carried out on the bCentral Commerce Manager service Web site. The merchant doesn't have to worry about transactional intricacies such as security, and is alerted by e-mail when an order has been placed by a customer.

All bCentral services, including Commerce Manager, are offered as low cost subscriptions, instead of software downloads. The bCentral Commerce Manager Add-in for FrontPage is an impressive tool because it represents the powerful merger of a software product that ties directly into a Web delivered service, as well as an exciting option for bringing e-commerce to any FrontPage-based Web site.

How It Works

The chart below demonstrates how a merchant using the bCentral Commerce Manager Add-in for FrontPage develops and maintains an online store using FrontPage and the Commerce Manager service.

To understand how this chart works, first assume that the merchant has downloaded the Add-in to their computer, and second, that the merchant has subscribed to the Commerce Manager service. Once these two initial steps are accomplished, then the merchant enters their product information listing directly into the online catalog at bCentral's Commerce Manager - in essence, creating a database of product information that is stored within the Commerce Manager service. Next, the merchant will run, for the first time, the bCentral Commerce Manager Add-in for FrontPage wizard, which produces three templates:

Catalog Page- A template for the store "home" page that lists all of the categories you offer products in. This is the first page that people see when they browse your Web store.
List Page- A template for the list of products in each specific category. This is the page the buyer sees when they select a category from the Catalog Category page.
Product Page- Lists the details about a specific product chosen from the List page. Each product you offer will have a specific detail page taken from the Detail template.

You will definitely want to customize each of the "templates" to be your own. Customization can include applying a Theme, adding graphics, and changing fonts and formatting. Once the templates are the way you want them, you can generate product pages in the Catalog folder any time you want by updating your inventory online and running the E-commerce Wizard.

You can think of this process like a mail merge in Microsoft Word, where a template and a data source are combined to produce a brand new catalog or collection of letters. Similarly, once you run the e-commerce wizard to generate the HTML pages, the templates will be combined with your product list to produce customized product details pages, product list pages, and a catalog category page. Note: It is very important to understand the difference between the Catalog folder and the Catalog Templates folder that the Add-in generates, which are both viewable from the folder list in the FrontPage user interface. See the section on Catalog Templates later in this article to learn how to customize your online store.

The Installation Process

If you are using FrontPage version 2002, the Add-in is accessible through the FrontPage interface. Selecting Insert | Web Components | bCentral Web Components | bCentral Commerce Manager Add-in for FrontPage will kick off the installation process. If you are using FrontPage 2000, the program is compatible, but must be downloaded and installed from: http://www.microsoft.com/frontpage/commercemanager.htm

To use the Add-in, you will also need an account with bCentral's Commerce Manager. During first use, the Add-in guides you through the process of signing up for the service and entering your products into their products listing interface.

After you have installed the bCentral Commerce Manager Add-in for FrontPage, two things will happen to your system: A new option will be added in the Tools menu titled E-commerce and a new E-commerce Tool Bar (seen below) will be available for your use as well.
use.

Getting Started

The first step in getting started with the Add-in on a FrontPage Web site is to develop the product information listing at Commerce Manager which the Add-in will integrate into your Web site. This step is done directly through a Web interface acted by selecting Tools | E-commerce | Add Products from the FrontPage menu. You will be required to login to a Commerce Manager account to complete the process. If you do not have one, the Wizard will walk you through the process of obtaining an account.

Once the product information listing is developed, you'll need to run the E-commerce Wizard for the first time. This is done by selecting Tools | E-commerce | E-commerce Wizard.

Once run, the E-commerce Wizard will take all of the products in your product information listing and build an online shopping application in the Catalog directory of your Web site. The URL for your online store will be http://www.yourwebsite.com/Catalog.

The Interface

The product interface for the Commerce Manager Add-In is accessed through the Tools menu and through the new E-commerce toolbar added to FrontPage during the installation process. The menu options are as follows:

E-Commerce Wizard - Integrates with your product information listing stored at Commerce Manager and creates the HTML for your online store in the /Catalog directory of your web site. It accomplishes this by running a query of your product information listing and generating a series of template-based Web pages for you. Once you login to your Commerce Manager site through the E-commerce Wizard dialog box, it will ask you which departments you wish to see presented at your site. Once entered, it will create the templates and pages for the online store. Running the E-commerce Wizard on a site that already has a store previously installed through the E-commerce Wizard will overwrite the previously existing Catalog folder, but will keep any changes previously made to your Catalog Templates folder. Note: Understanding the difference between the Catalog folder and the Catalog Template folder is crucial. Please see the Catalog Template section of this article for more information, as well as the "Tips" section for guidance.
Add Products - Integrates with Commerce Manager service directly through a Web interface that enables you to add new products to your catalog. The Web interface starts with a category selection process and then proceeds to the product specifics. Use this interface to add products to your product information listing.
Manage Orders - Integrates with Commerce Manager service directly through a Web interface that gives you the tools required to manage your orders as they come in. Through it, you can finalize or delete orders as well as view pending orders and update them accordingly.
View Settings - Integrates with Commerce Manager service directly through a Web interface and let's you manage the different marketplaces (in addition to your FrontPage-based Web site) that you might have also set up through an available Commerce Manager upgrade. Select the Microsoft FrontPage option from the list of Marketplaces when attempting to manage the settings for your site.
View Seller Console - Integrates with Commerce Manager directly through a Web interface to provide a Seller Console for your online store. This master interface presents your products and departments and gives you the ability to set shipping, tax, notification and other important settings for your store. The Seller Console also enables you to sell your products through other online markets if you choose to upgrade to the full Commerce Manager service described later.
Logout - Logs you out of the Commerce Manager interface.

Because Commerce Manager is a Web service, all of the options listed above require a connection to the Internet in order to work.

The E-commerce toolbar inserted into FrontPage when the Add-in was installed is used for integrating content and graphics into the Catalog Templates and is explained in the next section.

Catalog Templates

One of the most powerful aspects of the bCentral Commerce Manager Add-In for FrontPage is the ability to edit the templates created by the Add-In. As mentioned previously, these templates are placed in the Catalog Templates directory created the first time you run the Wizard.

Almost every aspect of a Commerce Manager Add-In template can be edited with FrontPage. By editing the templates accordingly, you can assure that your online store has the same look and feel as your Web site. This is a vital step in providing a complete online shopping experience.

The elements of the template pages that should not be edited include the product data represented within brackets ([]) and region data, which will be shaded in the template and labeled accordingly, as seen in the screenshot below.

To add additional fields and links to your E-commerce templates, use the E-commerce toolbar inserted into FrontPage when the add-in was installed.

It is important to note that editing or deleting system data from the product templates will cause the product not to work correctly. Great care should be taken not to delete inappropriate areas of the templates.

Caution: The editing of any product detail pages within the Catalog folder will be overwritten the next time the E-commerce Wizard is run. When a Template is edited within the Catalog Templates it will not be re-written over by the E-commerce Wizard process.

Use

Effective use of the Microsoft bCentral Commerce Manager Add-in for FrontPage comes through the optimized use of 2 key elements, your FrontPage-based Web site and the Commerce Manager service. The best approach is to consider the two elements of your store as two different disciplines in the online sales process:

The first discipline is in maintaining a Web site that people would want to buy from. It doesn't matter how great your e-commerce engine is if your site is not attractive to the people who visit it. Initially, don't worry about integration with Commerce Manager, worry about getting customers to trust you and your product and move them to buy. Such trust is accomplished by developing a Web site that gives users a clear reason to trust both you and your products.

It is under this discipline that you also would want to edit your catalog templates to make sure that they match the look and feel of your Web site. Give your users a complete shopping experience and make sure to make full use of the Web development capabilities provided by FrontPage when updating the templates.

The other discipline is in working with Commerce Manager through the Web interface describer previously. When using it, you should think in terms of order management and backend customer service, such as bookkeeping maintenance, tracking inventory, completing sales as they are received, and serving the needs of your customers to keep them happy.

Understanding and making the most of these two disciplines is vital to the effective use of the Microsoft bCentral Commerce Manager Add-in for FrontPage.

Limits and Expectations

This special version of Commerce Manager for Microsoft FrontPage limits the overall catalog size to 25 items, which can also be referred to as the basic Commerce Manager service. In addition, this basic version of the Commerce Manager service requires that all payment transactions be handled manually. The basic Commerce Manager subscription associated with this Add-in is available for $12.95 a month, or $99.95 a year.

If you wish to take advantage of a larger catalog, handle instant credit card processing, or have the ability to sell products on multiple web marketplaces such as MSN® network of internet services or bCentral, you can upgrade to the full Commerce Manager service. More information about this upgrade can be found online at http://www.microsoft.com/frontpage/commercemanager.htm

Currently, bCentral Commerce Manager service can only accept orders originating from within the United States. Updated information regarding the use of Commerce Manger in Canada can be found at http://www.bcentral.com/frontpage.

Specific types of products: Commerce Manager currently does not provide a means for the sale of electronic products such as ebooks or downloadable software.

Tips

When working with bCentral Commerce Manager Add-in for FrontPage, please keep in mind the following tips:

Once a consumer selects a product to be purchased from your Web site via the "shopping cart" or "buy it now" buttons, it will send the user to specific pages within bCentral Commerce Manager Web site to complete the sales process. Make sure you alert your Web site users of this fact as some might find such a jump worth concern if not properly explained.
The new directories to your FrontPage Web site created by the Add-in all start with capital letters. Some Web servers are case sensitive so you'll want to make sure to give the correct URL when you are linking directly to your online store.
Remember that any changes made directly to the product pages with the Catalog folder created by the bCentral Commerce Manager Add-in for FrontPage will be undone every time you run the E-Commerce Wizard. If you want to make changes that will affect your entire site, edit the templates in the Catalog Templates folder created the first time you run the E-Commerce Wizard. The content in the templates folder can be customized over and over again and won't be overwritten when the E-commerce Wizard is run.
Don't limit your business opportunities by thinking only in terms of sales made through your Web site. In addition to sales at your FrontPage 2000 or 2002 Web site, the additional marketplace features provided by upgrading to the full version of bCentral's Commerce Manager enable you to sell your products through many channels not available to the traditional Web store. Consider taking advantage of these features once you have established your new Web store.

More Resources

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