- Pre-sales FAQs

- Pricing Plan and Accounts

- Accepting Payments Online

- Basic Questions for webShaper store

 

Pre-sales FAQs

What is webShaper Stores?

webShaper is a Search Engine Friendly (SEO) E-commerce Solution that allows you to set up Your own branded (means your own domain eg amazon.com) online store with beautiful eStore designs to better market and sell more of your products online. It lets you manage your products, run promotions, connect to payments gateways (to take Online Credit Card Purchase), Manage your Customers Info and Effectively process your orders and more!

Learn more about SEO for Ecommerce published by us!

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Is webShaper Stores Seach Engine Friendly (SEO) ?

Not a single doubt, infact, this is one of the key strength and serious advantage offered by webShaper Stores. We apply our In-depth Search Engine Optimization (SEO) know-how into structuring your webShaper Stores pages (category, product pages etc) so that the GYB (Google, Yahoo & Bing) can easily crawl, index, understand and relate your category or product pages to your most important keywords on the pages.

Did we mention too that It's not just any typical SEO, it's SEO for E-commerce. We help search engines to understand "What you are selling" so that they can drive relevant, high quality traffics which searching for the products to your webStore.

Learn more about how to drive more organic search traffic via our E-commerce Learning Centre. (Promoting via educating is in our gene and culture)

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Is there a hands-on demonstration that show how webShaper Stores works?

Absolutely! We don't just provide real demo, we even allow you to test drive it!

1) Take a quick tour on webShaper Store and how it really benefits you (esp if you are a seriuos merchant).

2) You can check out the live webStore demo readily available here, notice the beautifully crafted webStore design ready for your use right away?

3) See the Video Tutorial - an easy way to learn how to get things done at your own pace!

4) Sign up a Free Trial - Just 30 seconds to register one, all data can be transferred to live store later upon request.


5) Last but not least, don't just buy our words for it, checkout our client testimonial (posted on our fb wall) and success stories in youtube!

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How much does webShaper cost?

webShaper Stores comes in 3 Different Plans and starts affordably from as low as RM 1 per day. Compare pricing plan here to understand the details. Pick one that suit your needs and get your e-commerce venture started right away!

It's really risk free - we provide a 14 days free trial, followed by a 30 days money back guarantee too*! (*T&C Apply)

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Do I need a degree to use webShaper?

You might need a degree for a job, But you don't need one to run webShaper. webShaper Stores is known for its user friendliness (claimed by real, successful business clients), clean and neat user interface. We have client with ZERO-IT-BackGround (NO IT required) pick up in one week time guided by our comprehensive tutorial and friendly personnel and so can you.

webShaper Stores also uses templates and wizards to help you quickly and easily build an attractive, feature-rich store with no technical or design skills whatsoever.

Tips: Althought NO HTML or CSS knowledge is required to run webShaper, however, acquriing such skills can give you or your staffs a serious advantage when it comes to running an e-commerce business. And it's not hard at all. you can start with this free awesome beginner tutorial to HTML / CSS by Codeacademy.

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How long does it take for miniStore / sohoStore / bizStore to be ready?

Once we receive the payment for the webShaper Stores order (Payment must be cleared if you pay by cheque), your webShaper store will be ready in just 24 hours (1 working day, exclude weekends).

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Is there a limit of number of products I can sell with webShaper store?

Yes, the limit depends on which plan you sign-up. miniStore (100 products), sohoStore(1000 products) and bizStore (10,000) products. For detailed plan comparison, check out the Pricing Plan.

If you need more than 10,000 products. Do contact us at sales@webshaper.com for extended plan.

How do I install webShaper?

There’s NO installation required, because there's nothing to install. webShaper is an ecommerce services delivered over the Internet, and all the Security, Software, Payment Gateways API, System Updates & Maintenance will be taken care by us. You only need a modern web browser (Internet Explorer 8 or above, Firefox or Chrome) and you’re ready to go.

How do i get started?

Here's the easy 5 steps to eCommerce Success
1- Determine your own branded store name - Can check using Godaddy.com or Namecheap.com
2- Signup webShaper miniStore, sohoStore or bizStore
3- if you want to take Credit Card Payment, Sign up a gateway, Learn more at Payment Gateways Comparison
4- Setup Stores - Stock your "Shelves", Connect payment, Set up shipping rates, Put up Terms & Conditions and Test it!
5- Live your webShaper stores & promote, Promote, PROMOTE!

What do I need in order to start selling?

1- Firstly, Products to sell. (If you don't know what to sell, you are NOT ready yet! Try conduct a research via Google or other market places like Ebay.com, see what other people are selling)
2- Signup webShaper minStore, sohoStore or bizStore (Compare pricing plan)
3- Payment Gateways to accept Credit Cards (eg Visa & Mastercard) or online banking transfer (see Payment Gateway Comparison)
4- Courier companies helping you to ship the goods to your customers
5 - And of course, marketing budget to drive traffic via Google, Facebook and more!

Do You charge a percentage of each transaction?

No. webShaper Storess does not charge any per transaction fees. Transaction charges are subjected to the payment gateway provider you choose for your eStore. Some of our competitors charge you as much as 1.5% of each transaction on top of the fees you're already paying to the payment gateway companies.

Can I use my own domain with webShaper?

Yes! Just email us at sales@webshaper.com and we will assist and guide you on how to update your Domain DNS information.

If you don't have any domains yet, join us at webShaper facebook page now to entitle for a FREE domain (.com / .net / .biz) with any signup for miniStore, sohoStore or bizStore.

Tips: There's 2 ways to you can setup your store domain:

1) You can choose to use your domain as the webShaper Store name - Eg www.mystore.com. For those who already owned an existing domain, what you need to do is just update your DNS record. Contact us for DNS record details. If you are not sure how to update the DNS record, you can always contact your domain provider or we can assist you (login info needed though).

2) or You can choose to setup a subdomain - Eg. shop.mystore.com or estore.mystore.com as your webShaper store name. This is preferred way if you already have an existing corporate or branding website which you want to maintain separately and do not wish to turn your website into a full-fledge e-commerce store. What you need is a CNAME record for your subdomain. This would require the web hosting control panel login to create a CNAME records, and each hosting service has slightly different ways to create CNAME records.

Note: Keep in mind that changes to your DNS settings may take up to 48 hours to propagate throughout the Internet.

Is web and email hosting included?

Yes, web space is provided for you to store your product pictures and its related files, like product brochures and catalogs. While webShaper doesn't include email, we go extra miles by providing this value added service by helping new clients to setup your email using Windows Live for Custom Domain.

Note: We used to setup the new account email using Google App for Domain, but this has been halted since Google has stopped offering the Free, Standrard plan since 7th Dec 2012 (GMT +8). We still highly recommend this if you have the budget to go for it.

However, do take note that we are NOT a web hosting company, think of us like a commercial real-estate developers which develops retail stores for merchant to rent and conduct business. When you sign up for miniStore, sohoStore or bizStore, what you are buying is the hosted ecommerce solution provided by neowave. Thus space and bandwidth provided are strictly for webShaper stores usage. For maintenance and security purpose, strictly No 3rd party applications or scripts (eg forum, blog etc) are allowed on the web space provided.

If you want to setup forum or blogs (for blogs we recommend starting up with the FREE blogger.com or wordpress.com), you can always signup with your preferred web hosting company and have your application hosted there by simply setting up a subdomain to point to the application - Eg. http://forum.myestore.com

Is it possible to import or convert inventory from my current online store?

Yes, if the inventory content can be exported from your current storefront into an Excel or CSV file, you can easily reformat and import the file into your webShaper Stores. Also, if you are using any open source solution like OSCommerce, Zencart, Magento or Joomla Virtuemart - Take advantage of our Switch Over Program (Free Migration worth $999)!

What sort of support can I expect from webShaper?

We provide email support for all our plan, with webShaper bizStore customers enjoy extra phone support. If you face any problem with webShaper Stores plan, just email us at support@webShaper.com

To ensure our support email does reach you, please follow the instruction on the following links to Add our email (@webshaper.com) to your hotmail / Yahoo / Gmail / AOL mail contact! ^Important

 

Pricing Plan and Accounts

Is there a setup fee?

Yes, but to help you save even more. We decide to waive the setup fee for now. See webShaper Pricing Plan.

Do I need a credit card to sign up?

Not a must. For businesses, You can choose to pay us via PayPal, Company Cheque or Cash (Bank-in) or Maybank2u Debit Transfer.

Can I cancel my store anytime?

Yes. Although we would hate to see you go, you can cancel your account by email the request to us at support@webshaper.com. Could you do us a favor by telling us why you are leaving?

Can I upgrade my store plan later on?

Absolutely! You can upgrade your plan at any time with no additional handling charges. Here's an eg how it works.

Assuming you are in the 6th month of using miniStore. we will considered a full 6 months utilized - regardless of the start date.

So you have 6 months left, which makes it RM365/2 = RM 182.5

To upgrade to sohoStore, just top up RM 999 (per year) - RM 182.5 = RM 816.5
To upgrade to bizStore, just top up RM 2388 (per year) - RM 182.5 = RM 2205.5

 

Accepting Payments Online

What payment methods does webShaper stores support?

It depends on which plan you sign-up. miniStore supports only PayPal for real time credit card payment while bizStore supports the most type of Online Payment Gateways including the popular iPay88, MOLPay, 2Checkout and more.

webShaper Store Plan	Supported Online Payment Gateways
miniStore	Paypal (Learn more on Paypal)
sohoStore	Paypal, 2Checkout, iPay88, WorldPay, MOLPay (previously as NBePay) (Compare these 5 gateways now!)
bizStore	Paypal, 2Checkout, iPay88, WorldPay (not supporting Malaysia Merchants anymore), MOLPay(previously known as NBePay), Singapore Enets, Commerce Payment, Mobile Money, FirstData, Authorize.net, Google Checkout, ChronoPay, Protx, Paypoint, Payment Express, Credit Card Gateway of Malaysia Banks* (Maybank2u, CIMB, PublicBank, Alliance Bank and RHB Bank).

Can I take manual (offline) payments like Cheque deposit etc?

Yes, absolutely. You can accept cash, mailed cheques, money orders, western union, money gram, direct bank transfers, or perhaps have an option to pay for the order in your physical store. Just give your manual payment method a name and an optional set of instructions for your customers, and they can select it like any other Payment Option.

I use a Payment Gateway that is not listed on your site. Will it work with webShaper?

It's likely that your payment gateway will work with webShaper. We only list the major providers on the site. Contact sales@webshaper.com and let us know what payment gateway you want to use and we will confirm the compatability in one business day.

 

Basic Questions for webShaper stores

Can I access webShaper store from any computers?

Yes! As long as you have an Internet connection and Web Browser (Internet Explorer 8 or above, Firefox or Chrome), then you can gain access to your store regardless of time and palce.

Is email included as part of the store?

Email offering is not part of webShaper Stores. However, for new clients, we setup your email (by default) using Windows Live Custom Domain, means Your domain email (Eg me@mystore.com) will be powered by windows live hotmail. Which offer big space, SPAM filter, reliable uptime and all the best what hotmail has to offer!

How to I change the title of my store home page?

Easy! Just login to webShaper, go to Design > Static > Edit the Index.html and put up your Store Title. We recommend putting keywords of your products as Store title. See some good examples below:

Eg:
- Sexy Lingerie for both men and women - SexyLingerie.com
- London largest Toys Store - LondonToys.com
- Hollywood Movies in Blurays, HD, DVD and VCD - HollywoodMovies.com

More tips at SEO Guide for webShaper Stores

I plan to sell thousands of products, will have I have add the product details one by one?

Absolutely NOT! webShaper store supports bulk product upload via the Microsoft Excel file - allowing you to add your entire product line to the online store with just a few clicks.

Tips: Do you know you can Autoresize the image sizes in bulk, and then upload all your pictures via FTP too? Learn more at our
e-commerce learning centre.

Can I sell downloadables (Eg ebook, design files, pictures) with webShaper stores?

webShaper Stores currently does not support automated download after purchasing yet as we focus on physical goods merchants. However, you can still use webShaper Stores to take order and manually email the files to the clients.

Can I host any 3rd party application on the web space given?

Due to security and maintenance purpose, we do not allow any 3rd party file or application installed on the space provided. webShaper Stores services are strictly meant for online selling only. To host any 3rd party application such as forum, you can Google for any web hosting provider that offers that.

Does it support multiple languages?

webShaper Stores does not support multiple languages yet (where you can click and switch language). However, webShaper Stores is fully UTF-8 Compliant, meaning you can input multiple languages at the same page or as the product name. See eg below where english contents mixing with chinese characters:

Can I seamelessly integrate webShaper Stores into my existing website design?

Yes, webShaper Stores can take the form of most existing website design. (Except full Flash website). For better evaluation, please email your existing website url to sales@webShaper.com and we will get back to you with an anwers and integration cost involved.

How will I know when i get an order?

As soon as an order is placed, your customer will receive an order confirmation e-mail and you will receive an order notification e-mail. If you login into webShaper Control Panel, you will see order notification on the dashboard. On top, if you enable the SMS module (SMS credit purchase is required, click here to download the order form), you can even get a SMS notification!

Can customers log into my webShaper Stores and view the order status?

Absolutely. This applies only for customer who sign up an account during checkout (not applicalbe to guest checkout). Apart from this, customers who pay you via offline methods like cheques can login to upload their scanned payment slip for each order so you can easily process afterwards.

Does webShaper supports Inventory Management & Tracking?

Yes, webShaper Stores offer product-level inventory tracking, but only sohoStore and bizStore allow you to manage inventory by product details like size and color via the subSKU feature. (Checkout the webShaper Stores Tour)

When items are purchased on your store, webShaper automatically deducts the quantity purchased from your inventory.It will also notify you when inventory is running low. You can also allow back-order which ignore the inventory status (if you are confidence the stock availability is a non-issue).

webShaper Stores' inventory tracking also allows you to control what gets displayed on your store. For example, if an item is sold out or reaches a low inventory threshold, "Add to Cart" button won't be shown alongside the product. If the product no longer in stock, you can just set it as "Inactive" via the Product Catalogue Manager.

Incase you want to deduct stock even when the payment is not received yet (means once client place order, you deduct stock count), you can enable this by active the "stock holding" status in the general setting.

Your store designs are gorgeous, but I prefer a custom branded design, who do you recommend?

We have a network of 3rd party Web Design Partners (WDP) that can assist you with the customized design of your site. Please contact us at sales@webshaper.com and and state your requirement clearly below and we would recommend you the right one.

1) What's your budget & timeframe?
2) What's your main color theme? (or show us your logo will work too)
3) Give 2 benchmarking website (meaning those with the "look-&-feel" which you like)

Does webShaper supports multiple currency?

Yes, it's via currency conversion base on the based currency which is fully configured by you. The currencies are tied to the payment gateway provider you choose too, eg if a currency type is not supported by a particular payment gateway you have setup, it won't show up as payment option during the checkout process. Check out our E-commerce Learning Center on how it works.

How many pictures can I upload per Product Item?

There are 3 standard pictures, namely small (thumbnail), normal and large. For any additional pictures you can easily put into the long description area using the WYSIWYG Editor.

But wait, there's more! We call this Image Gallery, Click on any Products > Edit > Gallery. This is where you upload pictures and have a nice carousel effect appear beheath your product picture.

What is small picture, normal picture and large picture?

Small picture - Thumbnails used as category picture as well as in front page merchandizing section like best sellers, featured etc.

Normal picture - Main Product Picture appears on the product page. Any extra pictures you can easily put on the long description.

Large picture - Only appear when users click on enlarge picture (Below normal picture) or the picture itself.

Where can I specify how many products I would like to display on a single page?

Please login to your webShaper stores control panel (General Settings > Display), here you can configure 'Product Display Option' or 'Category Display Option'. Eg if you want the product to display only 18 row, just fill in 18 in the row box.

Same goes for 'Featured Product' , 'Best Seller' , 'Manufacturers' , 'Special Promotions' and 'Theme'. Just navigate to Marketing > Choose the menu, and click on config button to configure it.

I own an ebay store, can I drive traffic from eBay to my webShaper store?

Yes! If you are already an ebay seller, you can actually promote your store URL In your eBay About-Me page. For more information on the eBay links policy, please visit this page.

How about customers that place orders over the phone? Can I manage those orders with webShaper?

Yes! You can do that with MOTO (Mail Order Telephone Order) at the Order Management. You can enter any phone or other off-line order directly into your customers' existing online accounts, or even create new accounts for them, helping you consolidate all your business operations and make life a bit easier for you.

Note: This feature is only available for sohoStore and bizStore. Upgrade now!

More questions?

If you can't find the answer you want, email us at sales@webshaper.com and we’ll get back to you.