Another new feature we’ve added to Cart Viper is the ability to edit the customer’s address and email details on an order that has been placed. So the next time a customer enters the wrong email you can easily change this on their order. Previous version of Cart Viper only allowed editing of the address now we’ve added the email address as an editable field.

Simply locate the order in the Store Admin > Orders page and view the details. Beside the address is the standard DotNetNuke edit icon which brings up the dialog to edit the address and email details.

In our DotNetNuke shopping cart Cart Viper we’ve recently improved the checkout process to give the store administrator more control over the user experience during the checkout.

Previously we had a simple 4 step checkout process, during each stage different information is collected from the user to complete the order. This checkout is still there and works exactly the same as before but we’ve added a 3 step and single checkout process.

The default checkout process is the 4 step checkout however going to the Store Admin > Payment page within Cart Viper now has the option to select the checkout to use.

4 Step Checkout

The user completes the order process using a 4 step checkout process. This is the default checkout used in Cart Viper.

3 Step Checkout

The checkout process has 3 steps to complete the order process. This is a new checkout process we've added into release 1.4.0.

Single Step Checkout

The checkout process uses a single page and makes use of AJAX to update the relevant data. This is a new checkout process added into release 1.4.0.

Today we’ve just released the latest version of Cart Viper 1.4.0, Cart Viper allows you to turn your DotNetNuke portal into a fully functioning online store.

This release has lots of new features and improvements that we are really proud of. If you are looking to implement a store using DotNetNuke then please take our free 14 day trial.

• Single page checkout option
• Three step checkout option
• Digital download orders now contains a direct link to the download on the order details page
• Support for DotNetNuke 6
• Variants defined with the dropdown list control can now have some default value, i.e Please select a size
• Enable Paypal checkout option in addition to accepting credit cards
• Improved reporting for the store administrator, now displays abandoned cart report
• Allow customers to zoom in to a product image
• Optionally attach the order as a PDF to the order confirmation email
• Support for the Structured Data Mark to describe product data
• Allow anonymous checkout when the cart contains a digital download
• Store admins are able to modify an customer's address and email details on an order
• Optionally hide prices and disable the cart for anonymous user, allowing only registered users to see the prices and checkout
• Attach a PDF datasheet to the product
• Support for creating 100% discount coupons
• Support for prepaid checkout
• During the order process the customer's IP is recorded
• Support for calculating the shipping rate based on the customer's DNN role and country
• Support for embedding skin objects in templates for the store
• Gift Certificates
• Separate page per category
• Digital downloads now support PDFs as a valid file type
• Numerous other improvements and fixes

Other the coming days we will be blogging about some of the new features in more details, so stay tuned. If you’ve got a feature you would like to see added to the roadmap for the next release then please get in contact.

Here at Cart Viper the DotNetNuke ecommerce solution we like to see innovative and creative websites developed using our product.

One recently launched website that meets that criteria is www.deplaque.com, our friends over at ITX Corp have taken the basic Cart Viper layout and through the advanced templating and token system we have, they have seamlessly incorporated the ecommerce side into Deplaque’s DotNetNuke site.

Many custom features were developed specifically for the Deplaque website – including the new 3 stage checkout and many more that are going to make up release 1.4 of Cart Viper.

The results speak for themselves and should provide the platform Deplaque need to expand their online presence and take their business to the next level. If you have anymore examples of Cart Viper being used in an innovative way drop us a line and we will be happy to give you a mention.

Here at Cart Viper the DotNetNuke ecommerce module we are happy to announce that we have just launched a partners program, the aim of this program is highlight and promote companies that have the necessary skill sets and experience to deliver turn key ecommerce solutions based on Cart Viper.

With that in mind we are looking for companies that have a proven track record in .NET programming specifically in the field of DNN and design. These companies should be able to take the Cart Viper platform and add their own value through design, SEO, marketing, etc to make a clients online presence as profitable as possible, if you think your company has what it takes please contact us.

Mark and myself are happy to welcome Pure Systems LTD to our partners program. Pure Systems are vastly experienced in the field of DotNetNuke  where they are DNN certified silver partner and have passed all DNN competency exams.

They have a proven track record in delivering DNN modules and creating custom designs for DNN sites allowing them to enhance the Cart Viper experience by building customer specific add-ons and with their expertise in SEO and email marketing they are capable of taking your online presence to the next level.

Pure Systems LTD
PO Box 90
Credition
Devon
EX17 2WA
info@puresystems.co.uk
0844 561 6046
Company No: 5991629

Support of Cart Viper the advanced DotNetNuke ecommerce module is something Mark and myself take very seriously. We understand when you place your faith in an ecommerce application you need to know that there is the support network behind the application to ensure that if you have any issues you can get timely answers to your questions.

With that in mind we are happy to announce we have looked at the support we offer and come up with 3 support plans to suit every budget.

Community support is completely free and allows users access to support forums, all posts will be replied to in a prompt fashion during UK business hours Monday - Friday (8am - 6pm GMT) excluding UK public holidays.

Standard support allows users access to support forums and email contact with developers, all emails and posts will be replied to in a prompt fashion during UK business hours Monday - Friday (8am - 6pm GMT) excluding UK public holidays. However priority will be given to standard support customers over community support customers. Hot fixes released for bugs.

Enterprise support allows users access to support forums and email contact with developers, all emails and posts will be replied to in a prompt fashion during UK business hours (8am - 6pm GMT) 7 days a week excluding UK public holidays. Priority will be given to enterprise support customers over community and standard support customers. Hot fixes released for bugs and discounted rates on all custom development work.

All support contracts are yearly recurring fees, the support packs can be purchased direct from our store. If you have any questions about which plan would be the best option please contact us and we would be more than happy to discuss them with you.

Following on our discussion of new features in version 1.3.1 of Cart Viper our advanced ecommerce DotNetNuke module we are going to highlight the new category image and description support.

In version 1.3.1 we have enhanced the options available to the store admin in the category management section, now it is possible to set both a category description and upload a single image for that category that can then be outputted in the store catalogue:

In order to output them in the catalogue we are going to use the advanced templating system Cart Viper employs. Each page within Cart Viper is made up of a number of .htm files that contains HTML and “tokens”, when Cart Viper makes a page it merges the HTML and replaces the tokens with data.

For example to output our category title, description and images we are going to edit the .htm file “CategoryContainer.htm”, we have added the 3 highlighted tokens in a simple HTML div:

Now when we view the store catalogue we get the current category title, description as well as any sub-category images outputted:

This templating system is used throughout Cart Viper and empowers the store admin to create advanced page layouts, a further key advantage is due to the fact each portal has its own templates it is possible to create completely unique stores for each of your portals on your DNN installation.

For more information on the token system used within Cart Viper please consult our user guide.

Its always good to see how our customers use Cart Viper in their site, Al Stoughton of www.boatinginfousa.com has implemented a great ecommerce site.

This is what Al thinks about Cart Viper.

“When we began our search for a DotNetNuke e-commerce solution, we weren’t sure what to expect.  It was our first effort in this area and we were working with a drop ship distributor with 10,000 products in a dozen or more categories with their own file format, codes and standards.  How to seamlessly marry them to our e-commerce front end?  We chose CartViper and couldn’t be more pleased!  The product works as advertised and is reasonably priced.  But most impressive is their technical support.  We had to write bridge software in VB.NET to marry Cart Viper’s interface with our distributor’s specs and formats.  We needed some Cart Viper changes and yes, even asked some silly questions.  The Cart Viper staff was always there with the answers – friendly, prompt, courteous and accurate.  If you need a shopping solution, we suggest that you give Cart Viper serious consideration. Good product; great support. We will be glad to answer any inquiries.”

Why not test drive Cart Viper for yourself with the free 14 day trial.

Another major improvement to Cart Viper our DotNetNuke ecommerce module is the integration into the UPS shipping calculations API, allowing real time calculations of shipping costs based on the items in the customers cart.

In order to use this service you must sign up for an account with UPS, once you have received your access information you are now ready to use this shipping provider:

UPS calculates the cost of the shipment based upon the size and weight of the items being sent, as you can see above we have defined defaults for package size and weight. In the event that a product does not have a length, width, height or weight defined we will use the above defaults.

Furthermore the address you enter above must be the address UPS will collect your packages from, as all shipping costs are calculated from the above address to the customers shipping address.

Once the UPS shipping provider has been configured at the point of checkout Cart Viper will contact UPS and request a quote for shipping the items in the customers cart, all available options will be returned along with their prices allowing the customer to pick the option they wish:

By implementing the UPS shipping provider Cart Viper now offers a wide range of methods of calculating shipping costs that should suit any business model:

• Enable / disable shipping to be calculated on an order.
• Real time shipping calculating via FedEx, USPS and UPS.
• Define a standard shipping rate on all orders.
• Define an unlimited amount of shipping rates by cart weight, speed of delivery and shipping destination.
• Define an unlimited amount of shipping rates by cart subtotal, speed of delivery and shipping destination.
• Define an unlimited amount of standards of shipping for each country e.g. saver, super saver, next day, etc.
• Define the shipping charge as a percentage of the cart sub-total.
• If no shipping rates are defined for a users country, customers are prompted to contact the store for a quote.
• Optionally charge VAT or tax on shipping costs.
• Optionally define a product as "free shipping" so regardless of the shipping rules in place, this product will not incur a shipping cost.
• In store pick up option.

Feel free to contact us if you have a shipping model that is not covered by Cart Viper.

Within the Store Admin pages of Cart Viper we’ve made it easier for the store owner to find particular types of products.

In additional to limiting the product list to just display items within a given category you can also just display

• Archived Products – Products which are marked as archived and not available in the store front.
• Products on Special Offer – Display only products which are on special offer within the store.
• Featured Products – Limits the product list to display products which have been marked as featured.
• Out of Stock Products – Shows products that are currently out of stock
• Low Stock Products – Shows products with stock levels running low.

We are already working on the next release of Cart Viper with even more features and improves. If you have an idea for a feature that you would like to see included in the next release please get in contact.