Settings

Company

The Company tab allows you to specify your business details such as your company name, address, contact details and even a logo. These details are used on printed correspondence such as invoices and despatch notes. Further company information may be added in the text fields provided.

The order in which products are listed on invoices and despatch notes can be modified to suit your requirements. Invoices and despatch notes generated by the site already have their own default HTML templates. These can be edited by supplying your own custom HTML code. Copy and paste the default HTML templates to get started.

Website

Outgoing email correspondence will be sent from the email address and site name specified here, along with a signature which will appear automatically at the bottom of each email. This might include contact details or any additional information you wish to display. For more advanced customers, an HTML wrapper can be added to enhance email content presentation.

You can also specify site-wide details such as the default text used in the title bar, including an optional suffix, and default Meta data such as the page description and keywords. The title and description are usually featured in search engine listings, so it is important that they are reflective of the page content. Try to keep them within a limit of around 60-65 characters for titles and 150-155 characters for descriptions to ensure they are not cropped prematurely when displayed. Keywords are significantly less important for modern search engines, but should also reflect the content of the page if they are used.

You are able to upload an optional Favourites Icon that reflects your brand. This image, which must be in ".ico" format, will be displayed at the top of the browser window and also alongside the favourites bookmark link. The file must be named "favicon.ico".

Fields are provided to include links to important pages such as a privacy policy, a cookie policy, and a contact page in case of any queries raised by customers of the site.

If you are moving your site to Bluepark from an existing site, it's likely that the URLs for many of your site's pages will have changed. This can have a bearing on your search engine rankings unless 301 Permanent Redirects are set up for your indexed pages. Each line should be structured as follows:

RewriteRule ^old.html$ http://www.domain.co.uk/new.html [R=301,L]

Any redirects you create will be added to your .htaccess file and will be active immediately on your site.

Should you wish to ban a troublesome IP address, or a partial address, then you can maintain a list of IP addresses in the field provided. Extreme care should be taken that large ranges of IP addresses are not banned mistakenly by specifying a partial address. Also, it should be noted that individual IP addresses are often dynamic, changing regularly, as opposed to static. It is also possible to specify a 2-letter ISO country code.

Activating Maintenance Mode will replace every page of your site with a blank holding page stating that your site is undergoing maintenance. An optional Maintenance Message may be entered in order to replace the default text.

Display Options

The Display Options tab allows you to configure some of the general aspects of the site. Individual Themes and Layouts can be specified for the Account pages, the Search pages, the Store Locator page and the Sitemap page. Account pages include the Sign In and Sign Out pages, the account details and the Checkout process.

The creation of new accounts by customers can be disallowed, meaning that only existing customers are able to sign in. Also, the display of prices can be limited to customers possessing accounts. The form presented to generate new customer accounts can be configured to require only the customer's email address or all of their personal details. By default, the former version is selected as this involves less work on the part of the customer. A form created using the Form Editor may be inserted into the page simply by selecting the desired form from the list provided.

Blog

The Blog tab allows you to specify how blog categories and posts should be presented on the site.

A Breadcrumb Trail may be displayed within blog categories, representing the navigation structure. By default, "Next" and "Previous" links are appended, enabling the customer to move forwards and backwards through blog posts without having to return to the category page.

If comments are enabled, customers will be able to respond directly to your blog posts. A comment depth greater than 1 will enable customers to respond to other customer replies, up to the specified discussion depth. Comments may be moderated before appearing on the site.

Featured images, summary text, Read More links and RSS (Really Simple Syndication) links appear on blog category pages, and in the Recent Posts Block, which can be displayed in the centre or side Columns. The visibility of these elements, depending on their location, can be controlled, along with setting how many posts should be listed.

Ecommerce Options

The Ecommerce Options tab allows you to configure some of the specific ecommerce aspects of the site, including the Shopping Basket Theme and Layout. Wish Lists for your customers can be activated or deactivated globally from this tab, along with the ability of your customers to set up Event Reminders and to Reorder previously placed orders via their account section.

By default, prices are assumed to be Gross, including VAT (Value Added Tax), unless you would prefer to set up all products using Net prices (without tax). You may also toggle whether you require List and Cost prices, affecting whether the respective fields are displayed in the Products section. If you are not yet registered to pay tax, you may simply set the Default VAT Rate to zero.

The Weight Measurement used, either kilograms or pounds, may be set globally. This is particularly important if you are using weight in your shipping calculations. You are able to limit the availability of Free Shipping geographically. Shipping charges and VAT rules may be estimated in the Shopping Basket, before a customer account is created, by the customer selecting a destination country.

You are able to Exclude Shipping Dates via the field provided, specifying a combination of full dates and 3-letter days of the week. It is also possible to Up-Sell for Next Day and Free Shipping via the Shopping Basket, in which case a message will appear underneath the shipping line.

If you choose to Manage Inventory, the available quantity in stock of a tangible product is calculated as the physical quantity minus the unshipped quantity on order, with the physical quantity being reduced when products are shipped. This feature may be disabled if you would prefer to manage your stock levels manually. Should levels reach the low or zero thresholds you have set, these products can be reported to you via email.

Downloadable, virtual or "soft" goods may be sold and distributed with ease using Bluepark's ecommerce system. The customer will be provided with a link from the order detail page either immediately following the purchase or at a time of your preference. The link duration, along with the number of downloads possible, may be specified in order to prevent the unauthorised downloading of files. The actual location of the file on the server is never revealed, and the customer must be signed in to access the download.

Gift Vouchers sold may also be made available immediately following the purchase or at a time of your preference. Gift Vouchers can be set to expire after a given number of months.

Loyalty Points can be enabled for your customers, giving them the opportunity to earn points for every purchase made. These points may be redeemed against future purchases, providing they meet the minimum points threshold you specify. Loyalty Points can also be set to expire after a given number of months.

Product Attributes are used to describe products. By default, each Attribute may have one corresponding value. It is possible to allow each product Attribute to have multiple values assigned by overriding the One Value per Attribute setting.

Product Variants are generated by applying Options to products. Variants can be treated as individual products with their own prices, weights and stock levels. By default, a Variant must have a unique SKU to set these values. This behaviour can be altered to suit your product portfolio by overriding the Require Variant SKUs setting.

Orders

The Standard Order Processing model involves new orders arriving with a Pending status, then being Shipped. The Shipping stage generates despatch notes and sends notification emails to the customer. The Advanced Order Processing model introduces a Picked status before orders are marked as Shipped. The Picking stage generates despatch notes and the Shipping stage sends notification emails to the customer.

The Order Number prefix and offset enable you to begin numbering orders from a number higher than "1" and to prefix the number with letters if necessary. The Order Number serves as the Invoice Number, although this can be inputted manually from within the Order Processor if you would prefer to use an Invoice Number generated by your favourite accounting package. Customer invoices are viewable from the order summary page within the customer's account on the site.

The customer can be required to create a customer account during checkout, specifying a unique email address and a valid password. Otherwise, this requirement can be circumvented by making account creation optional, either before or after checkout.

Several additional fields can be added to the checkout process. By default, an optional alternative delivery address may be entered, should it differ from the mandatory billing address. You may also wish to request the acceptance of your Terms and Conditions, as displayed on your site, during the checkout procedure. This can be accomplished by adding a link to the relevant page. The customer will be required to check a box to indicate that they have read and accepted the specified terms.

When an order is placed on the site, the customer will receive an order confirmation email. If enabled, a PDF version of the invoice can be attached to the order confirmation.

Notification of each order is sent immediately to your email address unless you indicate you would prefer not to receive such communications. An additional email, containing customer details formatted for CRM (Customer Relationship Management) systems, can be sent following a customer's first order. You may also wish to be notified when customers change their account details via the site.

Order abandonment can be minimised by having a follow-up email sent to customers who have begun, but not completed, the Checkout process. There is a similar follow-up procedure for completed orders where the products ordered are reviewable on the site, and also a general follow-up email which may be sent for any purpose. Such emails may be sent a specified number of days following completion of the order. If you collect the customer's date of birth, you can send a special email on their birthday which could, for example, contain a Coupon-based discount.

If you're using an external company to provide statistics and conversion tracking, you may be required to include some lines of Conversion Code, usually JavaScript, indicating that a successful payment has been made.

The last order exported is updated on this tab and can be altered if necessary to reset orders previously exported.

The header row can be edited via the text field provided and determines which columns should be included in an order export CSV file. If you remove the existing header row entirely, all of the default column headings will be restored. The default column headings can change based on which features and settings are currently active on your site.

Catalogue Options

A Breadcrumb Trail may be displayed within categories, representing the navigation structure. By default, "Next" and "Previous" links are appended, enabling the customer to move forwards and backwards through the product listings without having to return to the category page.

The Product List Bar, containing sorting and pagination options, is displayed above and below the list of products when viewing a category, and may be customised in various ways. By default, product listings may be sorted by a number of different criteria, unless this behaviour is manually disabled. Should you not wish to allow products to be sorted specifically by "Newest" or "Top Sellers", either of these options can be disabled for the site as a whole.

Much like blog posts, category and product listings may contain thumbnails and descriptions. In addition, category titles may be deactivated, and product listings may contain Shopping Basket buttons and review ratings.

The Category List is the initial view for the customer when browsing a category. You may select a single column layout, or a multiple column arrangement. Single column layouts work best when there is a substantial description to accompany the thumbnail, whereas multiple column arrangements work best when you intend to display many products economically without descriptions.

Products, which may be displayed over multiple pages, can be configured in a similar manner. The Global Block fields refer to Blocks which are displayed on non-category pages (such as the home page). The Catalogue Block fields refer to Blocks which are displayed throughout the catalogue, such as the Category List or product detail pages.

Some of these general settings may be overridden at both Layout and Block level.

Products

Products may be configured according to the way in which you would prefer them to be displayed.

Various availability scenarios can be accounted for, such as a product which is either out of stock or not yet released. Orders may be denied or the product itself may be hidden from sight. Should you wish to remove any possibility of becoming over-ordered, backorders can be prevented entirely, resulting in larger orders being reduced to the available quantity remaining in stock.

With regard to adding an item to the Shopping Basket, you can enable the customer to stay on the same page, with or without an interactive dialog displaying their basket contents. This can also work well with the Shopping Basket and Recently Added side Blocks. Otherwise, you can send customers directly to the Shopping Basket to view their purchase or allow them to continue shopping. Should the latter option be selected, the customer may be served with a list of Related Products which may interest them, should such products be available.

Although they can be individually specified in the Products section, Related Products can also be generated automatically by the site according to the number you specify. Any individual products you specify will override the generator.

A special Product Label may be applied automatically to new products by specifying the number of weeks since the release date for a product to be classified as new.