Each month we profile a client that is operating a successful e-commerce site in our newsletter and blog.  This month’s company is Russell Rhodes,  located online at RussellRhodes.com.   Russell Rhodes is a seller of customized and personalized Christmas ornaments, many of which are original designs.

Russell Rhodes is happy to extend a special offer to receive 25% off all personalized ornaments using the following coupon during checkout:

Coupon code: 25WN0810
Offer: 25% off all personalized ornaments
Expiration: Aug 31, 2010

The following is an interview with Denys Slater, President of RussellRhodes.com:

When did your site launch?  Give us a brief history of your business.
We launched in 1997.  We sell over 2,000 unique and custom personalized Christmas ornaments, many of which are original designs by Russell Rhodes.

How long have you been using Miva Merchant?  WebNet Hosting?
I used Miva Merchant once around seven years ago and I didn’t like it.  I tried it again last year, thought it was much improved and I now use it on over eight websites.    I have been with WebNet for about six or seven years.

If applicable, were you using Miva before you switched to WebNet?  If not, what made you switch?  If so, what made you signup with WebNet?
I was looking for a robust shopping cart software that could handle a lot of custom data fields, as everything I sell is personalized.  Nothing involves just a “add to basket” button.  I switched primarily to leave a suppressive, horrible, unfriendly company called Dydacomp and their shopping cart called Sitelink.

What do you like most about Miva Merchant?
It has the power to handle a lot of customer data input very well via attribute fields.

What do you like most about WebNet Hosting?
The service and help desk have been absolutely amazing.  I have NEVER had an experience even half as good as WebNet Hosting.  WebNet is the fifth hosting company I have used in nine years and I have every reason to believe I’ll never need to go anywhere else.  Seriously, I cannot tell you how wonderful it is to get a technical question answered at 1AM right when I need the answer.  The longest wait time I’ve ever had in the peak of the day has been 40 seconds.  Every need has been met and it’s really the people at WebNet that make it what it is.  PJ and Vincent have been invaluable to me.

What do you like least about Miva?  What are some common problems?
It’s still very “1990″ in terms of uploading data.  You can’t upload categories, headers, footers …  the list is long.  Even when you take into account all the modules out there, nobody makes a module to upload all info (for example: categories).  I have two different modules that upload various parts of categories, but nobody makes a module to import the category images.  So, I have to go hand code the image paths x 180 categories.  Very antiquated in terms of data upload.

What do you like least about WebNet?  What would you change?  What features would you add?
Seriously, the only thing you could add would be a personal masseuse while I am speaking with tech support.  I’m joking, of course, because I don’t have the slightest complaint about anything.  I can’t find one.

How many items do you offer for sale on your site?
I have nine Miva websites with WebNet Hosting.  I’m adding two more over the next two months.  All together, I offer over 5,000 products.

What Miva features do you use most?
All my %^&(* modules.  Without them, I couldn’t use Miva at all.

Which are your favorite modules and why?

I couldn’t live without toolkit and the prod and cat templates.  However, without the other import utilities, I still wouldn’t use Miva.  I simply can’t enter 25,000 pieces of data by hand.

Have you had any third-party development done on your site?
Yes.  I’ve taught myself html and a little php, but I couldn’t find a book on “Miva script” so it was a better use of my time to hire someone.  But even that was difficult.  There were not a lot of “Miva coders” clamoring for my business.  I felt lucky to find two very good ones.

What do you use for credit card payments and what have your experiences been?
MasterCard and VISA.  I won’t pay Amex fees.  I added Paypal and, as expected, sales went up 20%.

How many employees do you have?
Eight of my nine websites are seasonal for the Christmas season.  So from January through August, there’s one employee — me.  From October through December, there are usually about fifteen people working in various capacities.

What are your strategies for SEO?
You’d have to hire me as a consultant.  My main site is PR6 and ranked in the top 2 spots for over 100 keywords.  All other sites are the #1 page for their dozen or so keywords.

What were some of your biggest mistakes? (so that others can possibly learn from them)
The biggest mistake I made was paying an SEO firm $500/month for 10 months until I fired them.

What have been your biggest successes?
Deciding to do my own SEO.  Studying Google’s algorithm for 700 days.  I did a lot of live site testing, with the final result a close approximation of their mathematical model for ranking sites.  And then continuously testing and following SERPs over time because Google’s algorithm is dynamic.  And so are their penalty models.  In the end, it’s a big math formula, and I’m amazed in hindsight how much “opinion” there is about a math formula.  In the end, it is only and utterly math.  Brilliant math, but still math.  This means it can be understood by anyone.  There’s no need to have a “professional opinion” about what Google will like.  In addition, listening to what Matt Cutts says on video or writes in his blog doesn’t hurt either.

Take the time to peruse the inventory at RussellRhodes.com today!

The definitive goal of SEO is to move your site to the top of the SERP, thus increasing traffic, page rank, visibility and conversions – otherwise known as web presence. As research has proven, increased sales are the direct result of a strong web presence and what company wouldn’t want to boost their sales? SEO is primarily accomplished by building quality organic backlinks through various methods such as article marketing, directory listings, press release distribution, e-newsletters and signature linking on blogs and forums.

The meta tags (title, description and keywords) of a web page are also key elements that search engines use in order to categorize and rank web pages. Most times, these tags remain invisible to the visitors of a site because they are in the head section of the HTML document. Meta tags provide information regarding page content and consist of keywords describing the page’s subject matter. In-depth keyword research is at the heart of a successful online business. Utilize Google’s Keyword Tools to figure out the best keywords for your site.

For the owners and operators of businesses operating on the Internet, especially those carrying a vast array of products and/or services, creating exclusive meta tags for each and every item/page can be a daunting, lengthy and drawn out process. The Miva Merchant Shopping Cart simplifies this procedure and consequently, gives the online entrepreneur more time to focus on the actual operation of their business.  In face, Miva Merchant is regarded as the most customizable shopping cart software on the market.

With Miva Merchant 5.5, you can attribute unique descriptions, keywords and titles to the bulk of your pages by simply editing three page templates. These templates are known as Storefront, Category Display and Product Display. By utilizing these templates, you can save time, headaches and ultimately money.

The Storefront template allows you to create and easily apply the most effective meta tags and title for your home page. On the other hand, with the category and product display templates, you can quickly and painlessly create and apply tags and descriptions to all individual product and category pages.

It is imperative to use the most searched for words so that page rank can improve and traffic to the site can grow. This will, in turn, lead to higher sales. Always remember that finding and using dynamic keywords is a crucial component of the SEO process.

A principle selling point for cPanel is how it turns an abundance of previously complex processes into simple point and click processes thus making life less complicated for its users. The cPanel interface is extremely user-friendly and intuitive to even novice users.

The cPanel Automated Control Panel puts the power back into the client’s hands. Clients can now perform tasks that used to only be able to be completed by the web host providing the client with a more hands-on approach in the management and maintenance of their websites.

Website owners should have no fears that cPanel will be over their heads. If any questions or problems arise there are numerous tutorials and help files available 24/7.

Some formerly tiresome tasks that cPanel simplifies include:

· Uploading and managing web pages

· Creating email accounts

· Backing up data

· Viewing detailed visitor statistics

· Creating logs to aid diagnose problems

· Installing common web applications (ie: blogs & forums)

cPanel includes top-notch security defense systems like virus protection and rootkit detection. Thanks to its monitoring and update system, users will be alerted instantaneously of any failed services or potential threats.

cPanel is recognized as the most powerful automated control panel on the market and can help take your website to the next level.

cPanel comes standard with all packages offered by WebNet Hosting, Premier Partner Miva Host since 2004.  WebNet Hosting provides fully PCI Compliant Miva Hosting with 100% uptime as well as e-commerce solutions and basic web hosting.

Please give us a call at 1-877-503-HOST (4678) for more details!

Online business operators have a tendency to forget that the company hosting their store is the foundation of their business and a successful business needs a strong and reliable foundation. When looking for a web host, remember that finding the company with the cheapest price is not the goal. Paying a higher fee for better service and more dependability is ultimately the smartest decision. Conversely, the most expensive company is by no means going to be the best either.

When launching a new e-commerce business, finding the best shopping cart hosting for your needs can be a tremendously daunting task. There are simply so many web hosts out there and it is a tiresome and grueling process to separate the good guys from the bad. Many folks looking to start a website begin by checking out web hosting review sites and directories. On these sites, you can read what clients have to say about their current and former web hosts.

When searching for a host, do not be suckered into buying into gimmicks. Things like “unlimited” plans may sound appealing but there is really no such thing as “unlimited.” When a company says unlimited, that means that your site will be generally placed on an overcrowded server where you will be forgotten about. It’s important to research the history of the company and find a reliable host that is not trying to use sneaky marketing tactics to gain customers.

Your Host Dramatically Impacts the Performance of Your Store

There are a variety of major ways that your web host impacts the performance of your online store including:

1. Uptime and Downtime
2. Technical Support
3. Site Speed and Page Load Times
4. Management of your account including data, email, backups
5. Virus Protection
6. Defense from Hackers and Malware
7. The ability of your hosting to grow with your business (you should be able to increase hard drive space with one quick, simple call)
8. Your host should aid with the technical aspects of accepting credit card orders, including setting up a payment processing system.
9. Hosts should help you find developers or Miva Modules to make your site function properly.

No Such Thing As Good Downtime

Choosing a reliable web host and the correct plan for the amount of traffic your site will generate is of the utmost importance to the success of your online business. Site uptime and downtime are perhaps the most important components of how web hosting affects an online store’s performance. Downtime can really break an online business quickly.

Simply speaking, when your site is down and inaccessible then customers cannot make purchases and you cannot make money. Furthermore, potential customers cannot peruse your site. Let’s face it – people shop online to save time and money. If your site is continuously down then you will not be able to make it in the competitive marketplace of the Internet.

The industry standard for web hosts regarding downtime is a 99.9% uptime guarantee. Never sign up for a hosting package that does not guarantee at least 99.9% uptime because this will surely negatively impact the performance of your store. To put it in more practical terms, with 99.9% uptime, your site should never encounter more than around 45 minutes of total downtime per month.

Sometimes there might be a situation where your server has a critical error and your site may not be online for 99.9% of the month. In any such case, it is your host’s responsibility to credit your account with the pro-rated amount you owe for that month’s charges.

Quality Support is a Must

Reliability and good technical support go hand in hand. When choosing a new host, make sure that they have an excellent support staff. When you first call them, go with your gut instinct. Do they sound knowledgeable and easy to understand? Are they polite? Ask detailed questions and make sure you get well-informed responses. You want to have the comfort of knowing that in any instances of malfunction your issues will be resolved quickly and correctly. A solid web host will have email and phone support available 24/7/365.

Looking, feeling and operating professionally are critical components to running an e-commerce business. Having a sub par web host will toss professionalism out the window rather quickly. It is imperative to establish trust between you and your customers in order to successfully sell online. Customers will not feel safe spending their money with a site that seems unprofessional in any manner.

A Speedy Site is Essential

Another manner in which your web host can impact your store’s performance is your page load times. This can even affect your ranking within Google and the other search engines as they begin using site speed as a factor to determine page rank on the results pages. Having fast load times is imperative not only for the sake of ranking well with search engines but to make your customer’s happy. No customers like a slow site and chances are that if your site is not performing well, they might just click on over to your competition.

A Solid Web Host + A Good Business Model = Happy Customers + Success

Unsatisfactory web hosting can directly impact the customers of your store. Therefore, it is imperative that you choose a quality web host that will not play a part in your store functioning inadequately. Studies have shown that approximately fifty percent of consumers will leave a preferred site if they are experiencing technical problems. All it takes is one unhappy customer to begin the process of bringing down your business. If a customer is not happy the following results could occur:

1. They may never return to your store as a shopper again (this is especially traumatic to your business if they are repeat customers)
2. Word of mouth is a big deal. Unhappy customers have big mouths and they will most likely vent their frustrations with others.
3. A dissatisfied customer may leave a negative review regarding your business on a forum, message board or review site. One bad review can stick with you and your business forever so you must go to all lengths to avoid them. If it does happen, be proactive about it and try to squash it as soon as possible. Try to explain your side and apologize to the customer (remember, the customer is always right). Offer the person a discount or their money back to appease them. With today’s social networks, news travels fast. One tweet could go viral and your brand and image can be quickly tarnished.

WebNet Hosting provides fully PCI Compliant Miva Merchant Hosting and have been a Premier Partner Miva Host since 2004.

ENSURE COMPLIANCE NOW WITH MIVA MERCHANT:
Today, June 1st marks the day that all e-commerce websites must ensure that they adhere to the new PA-DSS (Payment Application – Data Security Standard) as established by the PCI (Payment Card Industry). The PCI is composed of all major credit card companies and establishes the guidelines all merchants, payment applications and web hosts must adhere to.

This is not good news for anyone involved in the e-commerce sector.  There is no set punishment established for non-compliance with the new PA-DSS.  If an online storeowner is found to be non-compliant then they will likely be charged increased merchant fees and penalties, face hefty fines and in some cases have their merchant account or even their entire website terminated.

Most of the confusion and controversy revolves around who exactly needs to comply with the new DSS.  The answer to this is somewhat complex but the primary rule of thumb is that if your store processes credit cards online then you need to use a shopping cart that is PA-DSS certified in order to be PCI Compliant.

As an e-commerce merchant, vendor or retailer (those operating a business online), it is your duty to ensure you are utilizing fully PCI Compliant Miva Web Hosting and that your shopping cart application is PA-DSS certified.  If either your host or cart is not compliant with the PCI than your site is in trouble.  Many carts and other merchant service providers are still shuffling to get scanned and added to the list of compliant applications before the July deadline.

With their new production release 7, aka “Wombat,” Miva Merchant is now a fully PA-DSS certified shopping cart application.  Premier Partner Miva Merchant Hosts, WebNet Hosting offers fully PCI Compliant Miva Hosting.  WebNet Hosting offers unrivaled e-commerce hosting, 100% guaranteed uptime and unrivaled technical and customer support.

If you are in the market for new shopping cart software than you do not want to use a program that is non-compliant with the PCI or PA-DSS.  It is not worth losing money or possibly your business over something so simple to remedy.  The responsibility falls on you – the storeowner – to find a host and cart that are compliant with the PCI and to fulfill the required network scans and questionnaires.

PCI Compliance vs PA-DSS – what’s the difference?
The PA-DSS (Payment Application – Data Security Standard) applies to products that are distributed as applications that people can purchase and then do whatever they wish.  For example, this applies to shopping cart programs and e-commerce solutions.  The DSS started as the PABP (Payment Application Best Practices) by Visa before becoming affiliated with the PCI Security Council, which represents all five major credit card companies.  In order to be PCI Compliant you must be on a DSS certified application.  In other words, your cart must be compliant.

PCI Compliance is a broader set of rules and guidelines.  The PCI Compliance rules are the standards for the way in which credit card transactions and other confidential information is processed online.

As of July 2010, both PCI and PA-DSS Compliance are necessary for a site that accepts credit card payments.  The PCI applies to all e-commerce businesses, web hosts, shopping carts, payment gateways and merchant account providers.  Miva Merchant shopping cart hosting is now fully DSS certified and has been added to Visa’s list of compliant companies.  The PCI Compliance rules are the standards for the way in which credit card transactions and other confidential information is processed online.

In order to be fully PCI compliant with the new PA-DSS, level 4 merchants must be running compliant applications on their site (such as their shopping cart).  Their web hosts must also be PCI compliant by using properly encrypted networks, regularly updating their anti-virus software and performing regular system scans.

There are a number of PCI scanning companies approved by Visa and MasterCard that will help small merchants pass PCI audits and complete the PCI questionnaire in order to show PCI compliance. Being fully PCI and DSS compliant is like having an insurance policy in the event of a security breech.

For the list of requirements that QSAs will be checking for in your scan check out:
https://www.pcisecuritystandards.org/security_standards/pci_pa_dss.shtml

Featured WebNet Hosting Site for June 2010

AGardenPlace.com

Each month we profile one of our clients that are operating a successful e-commerce site in our newsletter and blog.  This month’s company is A Garden Place located online at AGardenPlace.com.  AGardenPlace is a small  garden boutique in Southern California that specializes in selling all the products you could possibly need for a garden.  The following is an interview with Diana Hall of AGardenPlace.com:

When did your site launch?  Can you give us a brief history of your business?
We have been in business since 2002. It sprung from the belief that your garden should make you smile. One of my creative outlets is gardening and I have always loved interesting gardens. Not boring patches of fence lined grass, but fun gardens that make you stop and take it all in.

Our test garden is a fun stroll through tree-lined paths dotted with colorful kid size hobbit houses, fountains, kinetic garden art and visiting wildlife.  Visitors always loved hanging out there and slowly over time, a business was born…

How long have you been using Miva Merchant?  WebNet Hosting?
I have been using Miva Merchant since 2005. I switched to WebNet Hosting in 2009 after countless problems with my former web host almost destroyed the business.

So you were utilizing Miva Web Hosting before you switched to WebNet?  What made you switch and why did you choose WebNet Hosting?
Yes, Miva had come bundled with the previous web hosting company’s plan. It was the only shopping cart I had used. I really wasn’t looking to start from scratch with a new shopping cart so when it was time to move my business, I needed a web hosting company that was very familiar with Miva. WebNet Hosting came highly recommended within the Miva community forum.

What do you like most about Miva Merchant?
Miva and its developers seem passionate about their product and constantly work to make improvements. I like that a link to the Miva forum is built into the Admin panel. The forum is very active and a great way to find answers as well as stay current on bugs, fixes, patches, etc.

What do you like most about WebNet Hosting?
WebNet Hosting has been great. The move was easy. The few glitches were handled promptly. I have experienced 100% uptime, super fast page loads and excellent in-house support.

What do you like least about Miva?  What are some common problems?
Miva Merchant 5.5 out of the box is ok, but many features require buying additional add-on modules, which drives up the cost. Miva has it’s own coding language which can be daunting to learn. In the past, SEO was a challenge. Admin did not have a way to handle phone orders. I am looking forward to the soon to the new Wombat version which addresses many of these lacking features.

What do you like least about WebNet?  What would you change?  What features would you add? VPS hosting is great. I would like to see more allotted disk space and bandwidth transfer. We approached max bandwidth transfer last month.

How many items do you offer for sale on your site?
We  offer 300+ garden décor items such as gazing balls, toadstools and handcrafted gnome doors. Spring gets people into garden cleanup. Our current top seller is called Ever Edge, which is a heavy duty steel lawn edging that can be mowed over. We also provide information on where to buy 1000’s of other garden products.

What Miva features do you use most?
I use the shortcut buttons in admin to view orders, delete shopping carts, manage inventory.

Do you use any modules?  Which ones?  Which are your favorite and why?
We use modules that make shopping easier for our customers. Breadcrumb navigation, mini basket display, coupons and product ratings are a few. Most are from Emporium Plus. William Weiland provides outstanding support and prices his modules fairly.

Have you had any third-party development done on your site?
No, everything has been done in house with improvements based on customer comments.

What do you use for credit card payments and what have your experiences been?
We use Authorize.net.  Our experience has been great. Pay Pal and Google Checkout are also available.

How many employees do you have?
Just a handful (if you cut off a couple fingers ). Actually, I designed a small business I can enjoy, rather than just manage employees.

What are your strategies for SEO?
We use natural search and good quality link referrals. We focus on optimized pages with short, descriptive links, external CSS, fast loading pages, frequent page updates and Google sitemaps.

What were some of your biggest mistakes? (so that others can possibly learn from them)
Mistakes have been a big part of the learning curve. Most of the early mistakes involved poor web design and shared web hosting. Some other mistakes involved bad code, use of flash, failure to account for browser differences, useless link exchange pages – that kind of thing.

What have been your biggest successes?
Growth and survival in a tough economy. Happy customers and great working relationships with top notch vendors.
Make sure you visit AGardenPlace.com to peruse all of the items they offer for sale!

If you are the operator of an online business and not yet taking advantage of Miva Web Hosting then now is the perfect time to transfer.  With the new “Wombat,” Miva Merchant is now officially a PCI PA-DSS (Payment Card Industry, Payment Application – Data Security Standard) certified shopping cart application.  The deadline for PCI Compliance is very rapidly approaching and all e-commerce sites must comply with the DSS guidelines by July 1^st, 2010.  If an e-commerce website processes and stores credit card transactions and/or other private information then they must utilize PCI Compliant Miva Hosting and all payment applications must adhere to the PA-DSS.

Non-compliance with the rules established by the PCI causes websites to risk increased merchant fees and penalties, termination of merchant accounts, costly fines and even being completely shutdown.  Many shopping carts and e-commerce hosting applications are not compliant with the new DSS, especially carts that are considered “open-source” and lack the funds to go through the certification process.  This is bad news for those operating e-commerce websites that use shopping carts that are not certified.  The risks of non-compliance, highlighted above, are a very really threat to the livelihood of online storeowners.  If your site is not compliant with the new DSS because you are using a shopping cart that is not certified, then now is the perfect time to transfer.  July 1^st is very rapidly approaching and your business could be severely and detrimentally impacted due to non-compliance.

Other features of the new Miva Merchant “Wombat” include:

• Advanced order processing tools
• Innovative inventory management
• Updated, user-friendly CSS interface
• Dynamic pricing
• Ability to take phone orders from the admin panel
• Improved SEO capabilities

The new CSS UI is beneficial for the e-commerce operator in many ways.  It increases functionality of websites by truly separating a site’s content, code and physical appearance.  This new feature allows users to change the visual elements of their website without modifying the way in which it functions, which decreases the chance of a site breaking and not performing to its best ability.  With the new UI, a better site and administrative layout is created providing users with a modern looking and functioning site without any costly or time consuming development.

The cutting-edge, new Miva Merchant Wombat truly takes the online store to the next level.  With this release, Miva Merchant solidifies itself as the leader in customizable online shopping cart software.

Since hosting in the cloud allows for an unlimited number of sites, databases and email accounts, cloud computing is becoming rather popular among big businesses and government agencies.  As with any form of web hosting, there are pros and cons to the cloud, especially considering it is such fresh technology.  For those considering signing up with a cloud host, there are some important things to make sure of.

When it comes to security, there are some controversial aspects to cloud computing since certain privileged users have full administrative access.  If your company is storing secure information in the cloud, can you truly trust those employed by the hosting company when you most likely do not know them?  You need to ask yourself “Who hires and manages these administrators?”  When it comes to secure and confidential information, you need to ensure that you know who is managing the data in case of a security breech or other unwanted activity.

If you are involved in any form of e-commerce and use Miva Merchant as your shopping cart application, for example, you will need to make certain that you are utilizing a fully PCI Compliant Miva Merchant Web Host, even if your site is hosted in the cloud.   You must also make sure, especially in the e-commerce realm, that the vendor is willing and able to be audited, pass security clearance tests and that data is properly encrypted.  They must be compliant with the PCI and have taken all necessary steps to compliant with the new PA-DSS so that your e-commerce company has the ability to legally process credit card transactions.  A QSA from the PCI board must be able to access the network in order to perform regular scans.

In regards to the new PA-DSS, all shopping cart applications must adhere to the guidelines established by the PCI.  If your site is utilizing non-compliant shopping cart software after the July 1^st, 2010 deadline for compliance then you could face increased merchant fees and penalties and even risk hefty fines and having your site shutdown.  Miva Merchant 5.5 is a fully compliant shopping cart that has recently been DSS certified.  If you utilize Miva Web Hosting services then your site is on the road to PCI compliance.

Another question to ask of your cloud hosting provider is if they will allow you to control where your data is physically located.  The physical location of your site’s data centers and servers could be an issue in many ways.  The first thing that comes to mind is site speed.  The data for your site and or company should not be too geographically far away in order to prevent slow page load times.  This is increasingly important since Google is now using site speed as a factor in ranking web pages in their results.  Also, you want to be able to easily converse with those operating the data centers to eliminate any problems where things like time zones and languages can come into play.

When it comes to cloud computing, traditional backups as we know them do not exist since there is usually no secondary cloud.  This makes it all that more important for clients to take the proper steps to complete backups on their own.  What happens regarding client data recovery in the case of a disaster?  When it comes to lost data in the cloud, huge, costly messes can ensue.  Exorbitant amounts of money, time, litigation, lost business and lost clients are the results of lost website information.  There have been several high profile instances of the cloud crashing.

If you plan on moving to a cloud environment, you need to find out what the provider will do in the case of compromised or lost data.  Will the vendor be able to safely move your data into a different environment?  Furthermore, find out what will happen to your data if the company goes out of business.  Make sure that your files and systems will be returned to you because even if you do not own the cloud, you definitely own your files even though they are part of the cloud.  Find out what happens in the case of a disaster –Does the vendor offer complete restoration, and, if so, how long does that process take?

Despite the cons and uncertainty regarding some aspects of the cloud, there are advantages to cloud computing.  The most obvious is that users can access systems via a web connection.  There is no need to access a certain computer or program.  The cloud can be accessed with any web-enabled device including laptops and smartphones.  This also allows the cloud to be accessed from anywhere in the world at anytime as long as there is an Internet connection available.

Proponents of cloud computing believe that data is generally more secure in the cloud than in traditional servers because of the centralization.  Also, it is safe to suppose that there are increased security resources in the modern cloud environment.  Since the companies running the cloud have more resources financially they can instill security systems that the average client cannot afford and their staff may be more trained to handle such issues.  On the other hand, opponents (as stated above) worry about sensitive data being in the hands of cloud technicians that they do not personally know and are relying on the company to hire trustworthy administrators.

How did you get started in the Miva Merchant community?
I was Vice President of Operations and Marketing at a national health products company. We decided to add online shopping to our static website, and our host happened to offer Miva Merchant as their e-commerce solution. As a new user, I signed up for the Miva Merchant user list (now a forum). I started out asking questions, then, as I learned more, answering questions from other users. Finally, people started asking if they could hire me, and I started a part-time consulting business. A few years later, in 2003, I went full-time.

What made you get involved in the creation of tutorials?
As a Miva Merchant consultant, I kept getting the same questions from clients over and over. Recognizing a pattern, I bought screen capture software and started creating tutorial videos to answer the most common questions. It saved me a lot of support time and allowed my clients to be less dependent on me for many tasks.

Word got around about my Miva Merchant tutorials to users who were not my clients. People asked me if they could watch the videos, so I came up with a subscription plan that allowed me to expand the topics and create more professional tutorials.

What role do you think social media plays in the e-commerce industry?  How do you think that those running online businesses can use social media to their advantage?
I am a social media addict. I use Facebook and Twitter constantly. However, I have my doubts that many e-commerce sites would benefit from the time it takes to manage social media accounts. It takes real commitment, engaging your connections, not just blasting out promotional posts.

For those willing to put in the time and effort, there are three ways I can see benefiting from social media:

1. Being accessible. While the big companies are completely out of touch, with almost no desire to engage their customers, a small e-commerce business can build true customer loyalty and word of mouth marketing through honest engagement. Additionally, you can get fantastic ideas for new products, product improvements, and marketing techniques. Step out of your ivory tower and you’ll be amazed at how much your customers want to help you.
2. Tech support and complaints. If I can send a quick question via Twitter about a product I purchased, and get an answer within a few hours, I will be impressed. If I complain, and I get a sincere response, I’m even more impressed.
3. Promotions. People are not too fond of obvious promotional posts in social media. However, every now and then giving an exclusive discount (coupon code twittertuesday, for example), builds interest in your updates and gets you onto special follow lists.

What role(s) does blogging play in the current web 2.0 landscape and how can blogging as well as applications like Twitter and Facebook bring a personal touch to businesses?
One major benefit of blogging is having constantly updated content on your site, leading to SEO benefits. Another is providing information that builds loyalty and trust. If you reveal yourself via blogging and social media, as long as you’re not a jerk, you will generate loyal ambassadors for your brand. If you are a jerk, stay far away from social media!

I’ll take this opportunity to give some e-commerce advice. Unless you have a proprietary product with high demand and no competition, you must differentiate yourself from the bigger online stores. The best way to do this, in my opinion, is to tell your story. Most people would prefer to do business with a person instead of a corporation. Personal photos, in depth stories, family references – all of these things can be done with a blog to build a reason to shop on your site versus Amazon.com.

Could you tell us a little more about your role with the popular Practical eCommerce magazine?
I founded Practical eCommerce Magazine. I used Kerry Murdock as my publisher. Even before the first issue was published, Kerry offered to buy the magazine from me. I sold it and helped with the first few issues. I wrote most of the first issue, half of the second issue, and some of the third issue. Eventually Kerry decided to discontinue the printed magazine and focus on 100% online content. It’s quite popular and I’m proud of my part in its creation.

What are your roles at the Miva Merchant conference?
I don’t have any predefined roles. At several conferences I taught a breakout session or two. At the recent 2010 conference I was asked to be the MC. I also moderated a guest panel and demonstrated the new Wombat version of Miva Merchant. I hope to have continued involvement in future conferences.

How do you see Miva evolving over the next few years?  How has it changed since you began working with it?
In the beginning, Miva was a barely-funded startup. Support was minimal as staffing was always below what would be required to properly support the product. But it was a good enough product to be worth the trouble.

Miva was then bought by a company named FindWhat, which turned out, even with the additional funding, to be a terrible fit. The product lost a lot of users and community support.

In 2007, the current owners bought Miva Merchant. Support increased dramatically, the product was greatly improved and the community became much more motivated. Miva Merchant 5.5 is light years ahead of the previous versions due to considerable investment in a complete platform redesign.

As far as the future, I believe Miva Merchant will follow a path similar to eBay, Skype and Salesforce.com, from a small company serving a tight-knit community of users, to a mainstream corporate software leader. With the software getting easier to use and the company providing services historically offered only by third party partners, the need for a user community to support each other is decreasing. The result will be either Miva Merchant becoming a large full service company like Volusion, or the company being acquired similar to Monster Commerce’s acquisition by Network Solutions.

What advice would you give someone who wants to start their own Miva store?
That’s a simple one. Be prepared to spend some money to get started. People wrongly believe they can start an entire e-commerce business for 500 bucks, mainly because of misleading ads from GoDaddy and Yahoo. The reality is, if this will be more than a hobby, if you’re serious, it’s going to require a minimum investment in the thousands of dollars. Get an experienced consultant to help, and do it right. Or, if you don’t have a big enough budget, spend what you have on some nice new clothes or a short trip, because doing e-commerce halfway is worse than not doing it at all.

Why choose Miva over other shopping carts (either hosted or open-source)?
I wrote a blog post, 10 Reasons Why I Prefer the Miva Merchant Shopping Cart: http://www.chucklasker.com/10-reasons-i-prefer-the-miva-merchant-shopping-cart/575/

How has your blog helped you generate business?
Anyone who has been involved in the Miva Merchant community for a long time can probably remember my entrance to the community. Instead of a forum, there was an email user list. When someone emailed to the user list address, everyone on the user list got a copy of the email. When someone responded, everyone got that one, too. This led to a lot of emails each day, as well as some lively discussions.

With this user list, I made waves by criticizing Miva (the company), loudly stating my opinions, and fighting off the old-school leaders of the community. I made people angry, but everyone knew me as a person who says what he thinks. I learned that notoriety and honesty can make an impact. My initial clients all said it was because of my willingness to criticize that they were interested in working with me. They trusted me. And by working to earn continued trust, I built a business.

I said all that to say, for me, a blog is a place to build a reputation. Combined with other social media, people can truly get to know you.

What challenges do you see facing the world of e-commerce now and in the future?
In the beginning, long long ago in the late 90’s, a small company was able to compete with the big companies cheaply and effectively online. This is no longer the case. As with anything else, the big companies have found a way to push costs up to exclude smaller entrants from making a dent in their businesses. And that just means us smaller guys need to be more creative, faster to react to market changes, and more engaged with our customers to succeed. This, I believe, is the challenge of the moment, and will remain so for a few more years.

If I tried to give an opinion about what is going to happen with the Internet beyond 2 or 3 years, I’d be showing myself to be a fool.

Can you tell us some of the reasons behind your success?
Even though I’m not rich, I do consider myself successful because I’ve been able to do what I love for over seven years with no boss. I can pick and choose who I work with, and I have never had to seek out new business. I credit this to doing something at all times, keeping myself out there and working continually. If business is slow, I look for opportunities to help others. I believe this creates a karmic response that leads to good fortune from sources I could not predict.

How has the recent economic downturn affected your business?
When the economy is slow, businesses must choose where to get the most return for their investment dollar. For example, they can spend four grand on a Yellow Pages ad, or they can invest less than that to hire a developer to create or rework their online stores for increased sales. More website work equals more developers needing help equals more subscribers to MerchantTutorials.com! In other words, the downturn has been good to me.

What can we expect from Chuck Lasker in the next five years?
I have no idea. I have learned to write my goals in sand, knowing that, working hard in one direction usually leads to unexpected opportunities from other directions. I could not have told you in 2005 that I’d be anywhere near where I am today, professionally. Hopefully, by 2015, I will be able to say that I am just as surprised and delighted by where I’ll be as I am now. If that includes a lot of beach time, all the better.