ShopSite Basics

What is ShopSite?

ShopSite is an e-commerce software package that allows you to manage your online store, merchandise, and transactions efficiently. With ShopSite, you can create an online store or commerce-enable your existing site in a matter of minutes - without installing anything on your PC. But ShopSite is much more than just an easy way to gain a presence on the Web. ShopSite can help you turn an online venture into an online success with innovative merchandising tools, comprehensive commerce capabilities, and other industry-leading features that grow with your business.

No shoppers, no revenue. It's that simple. ShopSite is designed to help you bring shoppers to your site. ShopSite creates pages that can be easily indexed by search engines, making it easy for potential customers to find you. And you have complete control over the keywords and descriptions search engines will use for your site. To increase your site's visibility, even more, you can easily place an order button anywhere: in an email, on a CD, in a banner ad, or on a partner's website.

The ShopSite range of product features is extensive, and a product of this quality may be out of reach for many small businesses. We want to give you the best options without increasing your budget.

Install/Enable ShopSite

To install ShopSite on your hosting account:

Log in to your Domains dashboard.
Click on the Hosting Tools tile icon at the top right corner.
On the Advanced Hosting Tools page, click the ShopSite icon. The basic version of ShopSite, ShopSite Starter, is shown below:
You will be brought to the Enable ShopSite page. Click Enable ShopSite.
ShopSite will be installed on your account within a few minutes. Your patience during this installation process is appreciated.

Create or configure your ShopSite store

To configure your store, you must first have enabled or installed ShopSite.

NOTE: If you have just completed the installation of ShopSite, your screen may show a Configure Store link. If so, you can directly access the configuration wizard by selecting this link, then following the instructions below starting at Step 4.

Log in to your Domains dashboard.
Click on the Hosting Tools tile icon at the top right corner.
On the Advanced Hosting Tools page, click the ShopSite icon. The basic version of ShopSite, ShopSite Starter, is shown below:
You will be brought to the ShopSite page. Click Manage My Store.
The ShopSite wizard will appear. Select your language and currency from the dropdown menus, then click Next.
Select the radio button for how you want to integrate ShopSite with your website, then click Next.
The overview page of the wizard will be displayed. Click Next.
In Step 1, enter a store name and a welcome message, then click Next.
In Step 2a, enter the descriptive information for one item you will be selling in your store, then click Next.
In Step 2b, you can add more items to your store by clicking Add Another Product, or you can continue by clicking Next.

NOTE: If you choose to continue, you can always add more items to your store in the future by clicking the Products tab on the ShopSite homepage.
In Step 3, you can create a new product page by filling in the fields within your store. Once complete, click Next to continue.
In Step 3b, you can add additional product pages to your store by clicking Add Another Page, or you can continue by clicking Next.

NOTE: If you choose to continue, you can always add more product pages to your store in the future by clicking the Products tab on the ShopSite homepage.
In Step 4, you can set tax rates for any tax to be collected. Click Next to continue.
In Step 5, you can set what payment types will be accepted by your store. Click Next to continue.

NOTE: If you choose to continue, you can adjust these payment types in the future by clicking the Commerce tab on the ShopSite homepage. More information on this process is available in the Configuring ShopSite Payment Options knowledgebase article.
In Step 6, you can set what shipping methods are offered by your store. Click Next to continue.
In Step 7, you can set the theme and layout of products for your online store. Click Next to continue.
In Step 8, you can publish your store by clicking the Publish button in the top-right corner of the screen.
Your store will be published within a few moments, and you will be taken to the ShopSite homepage.
- Whenever you access the ShopSite icon from your control panel in the future, you will be taken directly to this page.
- To edit any of the information or settings applied to your store using the configuration wizard, click the appropriate tab at the top of this home page.

Configure ShopSite Payment Options

As a ShopSite merchant, you have many options for accepting payments in your online store. You may need to obtain a merchant account and a payment gateway for some of these options, such as credit cards.

To configure payment options for ShopSite:

Log in to your Domains dashboard.
Click on the Hosting Tools tile icon at the top right corner.
On the Advanced Hosting Tools page, click the ShopSite icon.
Click Manage My Store.
Select the Commerce icon, then Payment.
On the Payment Setup page, you have several options:
- In the Payment Services section, check the boxes for the payment methods your online store will accept.
  
  NOTE: Some of the available options (such as PayPal, Google Checkout, and Checkout by Amazon) have additional configuration requirements. If you select one of these options, click Configure next to the selected payment option to modify these advanced settings.
- In the Checkout Button Positioning section, you can arrange the layout of the payment types selected in the Payment Services section.
- In the Credit Card Processing section:
  1. Select Authorize.Net AIM as your processor.
  2. Click Configure Processor.
  3. Complete all the required information (provided by Authorize.net) on this page. More information on this can be found in the ShopSite Options and Configurations knowledgebase article.
  4. Click Save Changes to apply the processor settings.
  5. Select the types of credit cards that your store will accept in this section.
- In the Human Validation section, you can set up a feature to prevent programs from fraudulent activity, such as automatically submitting multiple credit card numbers to find one that works.
Once you've completed updating the payment options for your store, click Save Changes to apply these settings.

Link your store to your website

When you use the 'publish' function in ShopSite, the software saves your files in a subdirectory called 'store'. If you already have a website and wish to connect your store to your site, use Option 1 below to link your store to your site. If you wish to use the ShopSite store as your main website, use Option 2 below.

Option 1: Create an HTML hyperlink from your website to the front door of your store:
1. Insert a link directly into your HTML code of the page where you wish to create the link. For example:
  Insert 'Welcome to my store,' positioned as desired on your page, configured as a link to: www.example.com/store
2. By default, the first page of your store will be named index.html - This allows you to direct your customers to www.example.com/store to view your store contents
Options 2: Point your domain to the /store subdirectory. This will allow your users to type in www.example.com and be redirected to your store's main page.
1. Log in to your control panel and go to DomainCentral.
2. Follow the instructions in the knowledgebase article for Pointing or Redirecting a Domain.

Get more help for ShopSite

ShopSite provides extensive support and documentation:

Video Tutorials
Knowledgebase
Help and Resource Center
Click the ? button within the ShopSite program to access topic-specific help.

Getting started with ShopSite

This tutorial shows how to create a store in ShopSite using the Wizard.

I just completed the ShopSite wizard but I am unable to see my store. Why?

For users of our Windows platform, there is a fulfillment delay of approximately one hour from the time you complete the wizard until the time your store is visible online. Due to the nature of our architecture, there are many files for ShopSite that need to be moved and copied when you first set up your account. Please be patient as this fulfillment process completes.

Why can't I view my ShopSite store?

When you use the 'publish' function in ShopSite, the software saves your files in a subdirectory called 'store'. To view your store pages type /store/ after your Website address, for example:

www.domainname.com/store

I am using ShopSite version 6, 7, or 8 and cannot use PayPal anymore. Why?

PayPal has discontinued its integration with ShopSite versions 6, 7, and 8. If you were processing PayPal transactions for your ShopSite store using one of these three versions (6, 7, or 8), you would need to upgrade to ShopSite 11, the latest version available. Otherwise, you will not be able to continue using PayPal with your store. Please contact support for assistance with upgrading your ShopSite version to ShopSite 11.

My ShopSite Starter says I can configure 15 products, but I can only create 12. Why?

iPage has recently updated the number of products you can create in ShopSite Starter from 12 to 15. Please contact support to modify your store, allowing you to create up to 15 products.

Maximum number of products/pages for a ShopSite storefront

With the Starter version of ShopSite, you can have up to 15 products and 5 pages.

If you want to list an unlimited number of products or pages or process credit cards online, you will have to upgrade to either Shopsite Pro or Shopsite Manager. See ShopSite E-Commerce Tools for more information on all of our ShopSite packages.