The blog is back and Todd Smith Photography has a new web design

by Todd Smith on March 11, 2009

Last week was transition week here.  The blog was down for most of the week and my regular website got a complete overhaul.

For those of you who use WordPress for your blog, my error was a simple setting in my wp-config.php file.  I switched hosting services and the new hosting has mysql files on a separate server (so localhost didn’t work).  I’m especially glad of this, even though it took me a few days to figure it out.  The end result is that my pages should load a lot faster now.  Let me know your experience.

Have you had a chance to check out the new site.  I wrote about it in last week’s newsletter.

Some of my favorite features include:

Gift Certificates – You can now buy gift certificates for anyone with an email address. The certificate will be sent right away and is good for a year. You can put any amount on it from $1 to $1000 (no preset amounts, thank you very much!). I’ve even customized the certificate layout so that it looks like Todd Smith Photography (for those who remember my old home page).

Gift Certificate

One Page Checkout – This is my favorite by far. Checkout used to take many steps on my old site, and there were always problems. Now the whole thing takes place in one simple page. I switched gateways too and am very happy with Authorize.net. As always, you can use Visa, Master Card, American Express, Discover and Diner’s Club cards.

one page checkout

Multicurrency Prices – The new cart will automatically detect which country you are in and will change the prices to your home currency. I only have loaded a few currencies so far, but if there’s one you’d like to see, let me know and I’ll be happy to add it. Also, you can manually select a currency if the automatic system doesn’t work for you. Even your receipt comes in the currency you have chosen.

multicurrency option

View Large Images – You can view several images of any product in large size. This is especially great for wallpaper images because you can see what it really looks like up close.

large image

Search With Pictures – Now you can search for items and see thumbnails while you’re searching. Find what you’re looking for in less time!

search function

Sort Function – You can sort displayed items by price, rating, newness, bestselling, or alphabet. Looking for a gift within a certain price range? This function makes it easy to find what you need.

sort function

Free Shipping on Large Orders – For orders above $300 you get free shipping. Since most framed prints are in this range, it means that you often get free shipping when you order a print. During certain promotions, I will lower the free shipping minimum order.

In a nutshell, the new site is faster, more organized, and easier to use. I’m still loading products, so please be patient as I add them. In the meantime, you can subscribe to the new product feed, and see the new products as they come out. I’m trying to add a description to each product, so that slows things down. In the end, though, I think the descriptions will make the site more enjoyable to visit.

So what’s your opinion? Is there anything I should be doing that I haven’t thought of? Is there anything that needs to be fixed? I’d love to hear your thoughts.

By the way, if you need a shopping cart for your site, I can highly recommend the Interspire Shopping Cart.