Frequently Asked Questions:
Developing an Online eCommerce Store

1. Does Mountain Media use web design templates to build ecommerce stores?

No, we pride ourselves on our original design concepts and customized approach to ecommerce web design. Your business is unique and deserves a one-of-a-kind identity on the Web. That's why every Mountain Media eCommerce package includes its own design concept. Our graphic design department will work with you to establish the unique look and feel your site needs to brand it as a professional and trustworthy site. Those characteristics will have a positive impact on traffic and sales.

2. Will I need any special software to run my ecommerce store using Mountain Commerce?

No, thats part of the appeal of our web development services. Mountain Commerce is a web-based application, which you can access through any standard web browser. We recommend using Internet Explorer 6.0, Firefox 2.0, Safari 3.1, or any of the more recent versions of those browsers.

3. Why do you describe your platform as being Search Engine Friendly?

Mountain Commerce, the versatile ecommerce platform we developed several years ago, was created with search engine marketing in mind. Our advanced Mountain Commerce software stands apart from other solutions because its 100% XHTML compliant. This provides you with distinct benefits because it keeps your website free from the code errors that prevent search engines from indexing your site properly. Error-free sites result in better search engine ranking, higher visibility, and more sales-producing Web traffic.

Mountain Commerce takes search engine friendliness to the next level by generating unique title and meta tags on every Web page, creating keyword-rich file names (which search engines), and strategically inserting keyword-rich ALT tags in the optimal places.

4. Would you be willing to use a site design that I provide you with?

Yes, youre welcome to provide us with your own design concept, which we would then incorporate into a fully functional ecommerce website.

5. Does Mountain Media offer logo design or other custom design services?

Yes, we do. Our experienced in-house graphic designer develop of a distinctive company logo, as well as newsletter templates, and an overall branding strategy to create a unique presence on and off the Internet.

6. What programming languages do you use to develop, customize, or implement the Mountain Commerce platform?

Mountain Commerce is designed around FreeBSD, PHP and MySQL. This environment offers the security and reliability needed to power your complex eCommerce web site.

7. Does your system include a WYSIWYG Web page editor?

Yes, its very user friendly. The content editor contained in the Mountain Commerce system enables you to add text and images to your website without the use of HTML tags or "coding". This option greatly simplifies the process of updating content.

8. Is there a maximum number of products your platform can support?

The Mountain Commerce platform can support an unlimited number of products. It can handle everything from a boutique store to an online shopping mall.

9. What kinds of product description fields do you support? Do you allow merchant defined fields?

Mountain Commerce supports unique title tag, keyword, meta tag, product name, and product description fields to help you get search engine visibility down to the product level. If your product catalog has unique parameters, the system can easily accommodate them.

10. Is it possible for individual products to be set as taxable or non-taxable?

Yes, Mountain Commerce provides that capability. As an added option, customers can be designated 'tax-exempt'. Our software also provides a field for the tax-exempt customers' Federal Tax ID. As a point of interest, sales tax is only calculated for orders that have a shipping address in a 'taxable' state.

11. What shipping services does your platform integrate with? Describe the features.

Mountain Media integrates with USPS, UPS and Fedex for real-time shipping rate quotes. Shipping label integration with tracking numbers is available for UPS. Standard laser printers and printers supplied by UPS are supported. If you need shipping label integration with USPS, thats also available with our Endicia module. Mountain Media's Endicia module is a true integration, providing real-time label printing direct from the order fulfillment tools. No third party desktop software is needed.

12. What calculation methods can be used to figure out shipping charges?

The shipping options available to you are very flexible. Each shipping option defined by the merchant has parameters for controlling markup by flat-rate or percentage, and can be made available to a minimum and/or maximum sale subtotal. Shipping options can be assigned by product as well.

Additionally, real-time rate quotes based on weight and shipping destination of the order are available from UPS, USPS and Fedex. Using this combination of parameters it is possible to create unlimited shipping calculation configurations such as free shipping on orders over $x, real-time rate quotes with transparent handling charges added based on sale amount and just about anything else you can dream up.

13. Do you offer a gift certificate option?

Yes we do. Our integrated gift certificate module, which is not a 3rd party solution, can be used to create gift certificates that can be emailed, as well as paper gift certificates that can be mailed through the U.S. Postal Service. Merchants can control denominations displayed and gift code format. F.Y.I.: Our gift certificate module is not a 3rd part solution.

14. Do you offer a wish list option?

Yes, that's also available. Mountain Media's Wish List module is highly configurable from a simple wish list to a complex bridal registry. Multiple wish list types can be used at the same time. When used as a registry, the system tracks the quantities purchased and has configurable email messages. F.Y.I.: Our wish list module is not a 3rd part solution.

15. Do you offer affiliate modules?

Yes, that's another service we offer to clients. Our affiliate module can be used to create coupon codes or provide discounts to end-users and credit referrers. Integrated affiliate reporting gives merchants the ability to see which affiliates and promotions are performing well.

16. What marketing features are offered through your platform?

Mountain Commerce offers all the latest marketing and up-sell features including the following: gift certificates, wish list, tell-a-friend, and featured-and-related products. Theyre all seamlessly integrated into one platform. No third-party solutions are involved.

17. Do you have a mass-emailing module for distributing newsletters?

Yes, we can provide you with the ability to quickly and efficiently send an announcement or newsletter to your mailing list. The back-end tools include an email/newsletter module to make it easy for you to keep in touch with your customers and prospects.

18. Do you offer payment gateway services?

Yes, Mountain Media offers its own secure payment gateway service.

19. What third-party order management systems are you integrated with?

Our platform integrates with several order management and shipping solution partners, including Stone Edge, Mail Order Manager (MOM), Endicia Internet Postage, UPS, and Fedex.

Were continually refining and upgrading the Mountain Commerce software and are looking to build strategic partnerships that enable us to deliver a variety of tightly integrated third-party solutions to our customers. Mountain Media also excels at building customized software solutions; so if theres a specific integration that you feel would build efficiencies for your business, give us a call at our toll-free number: 877.583.0300.

20. What customer notifications are automatically generated by your system?

Currently the automatic customer notifications that our system generates for you are order placed and order shipped.

21. What statistics and reporting capabilities are available to the merchant?

Mountain Commerce offers compete web statistics, as well as robust reporting features and the ability to create custom reports.

22. Are your systems and processes PCI compliant?

Yes, that's one of the unique advantages Mountain Media provides to its customers. In May 2008, we were granted Level 1 Payment Card Industry - Data Security Standards (PCI DSS) CISP certification by VISA, making us one of only a handful of hosted shopping cart solutions and payment gateway providers to achieve that level of security. If youd like to learn more about the importance of selecting a shopping cart solution that is PCI DSS compliant visit this Web page: http://www.mountainmedia.com/PCI-CISP-Compliance-c109.html)

23. Does Mountain Media offer hosting services?

Yes, we offer various levels of hosting to deliver manageable, scalable and highly available environments for mission critical data networks. Read more about our available hosting services at our primary Web site: http://www.mountainmedia.com/Web-Hosting-Services-c10.html

24. What level of uptime does Mountain Media guarantee for my web site?

Mountain Medias goal is to achieve 100% website and server availability for all of our customers. To prove our commitment to the highest quality of service, we have enacted a Service Level Agreement (SLA) for our hosting customers, which guarantees 99.9% up-time.

25. Does Mountain Commerce generate clean URL strings?

Yes, when adding pages and products to your Mountain Commerce Web site, the system will generate clean URLs. This helps to make your online store more visible in Google and the other search engines.

26. Does Mountain Commerce allow unique title and meta tags on every page?

Yes, Mountain Commerce provides an easy-to-use field system to add unique title and meta tags to your pages. If you leave these fields blank, the system will generate them automatically using category and product names and descriptions.

27. Can you build a complex, customized website for my business?

Yes, we do it all the time. Mountain Media specializes in designing, developing, and maintaining complex eCommerce Web sites. Wed be happy to discuss your needs and provide you with a customized solution.

28. Is Mountain Commerce a SaaS (Software as a Solution) ecommerce solution?

Yes, Mountain Commerce is a hosted, licensable product and is provided in a SaaS model. SaaS is a model of software deployment where an application is hosted as a service provided to customers across the Internet. By eliminating the need to install and run the application on the customer's own computer, SaaS alleviates the customer's burden of software maintenance, ongoing operation, and support. Using SaaS also can reduce the up-front expense of software purchases, through less costly, on-demand pricing.

29. Do you provide customer support services?

Customer support is available to you Monday through Friday from 8:30 AM to 5:00 PM (E.S.T). You can reach our on-site staff via phone, email, and online forum support.

30. Do you support product feeds to shopping sites, such as Google and Shopzilla?

Yes, Mountain Commerce supports Google Base product feeds and will help you submit your products to other leading comparative shopping sites.

31. Does Mountain Commerce have bulk product and image uploading capabilities to accommodate my large catalog?

Yes we do. Our flexible product import tool takes your tab-delimited file and turns it into a product catalog. It supports multi-tier pricing, categories, and other features and requirements. This tool intelligently inserts new or updates existing products from the same file.

The bulk image upload tool greatly speeds up the process of populating the images in a large catalog.

32. What kind of user training do you provide to customers?

Customer training is a standard feature with every Mountain Commerce implementation. We strive to give you the tools and skills youll need to maintain a successful store and make optimal use Mountain Commerce features. Customized training programs are also available in areas such as search engine marketing, catalog development, building a successful eCommerce business, and any integrated solution or custom application we build for you.

33. Can you help us get increased website traffic?

Yes, we have search engine marketing (SEM) specialists on our staff who use proven techniques and best practices to give clients a competitive advantage on the Web. Mountain Medias experienced Internet marketing team offers a suite of SEM services that will help you generate increased Web traffic, improve your search engine positioning, and help you gain high rankings in multiple, targeted searches. We achieve this through search engine optimization (SEO) techniques, which include the essential research needed to develop a marketing plan that recognizes your unique business identity and goals.