I have never cared much for Mac's.  I was not excited about the Iphone.  I DO love the Mac/PC commercials.. They are pretty darn funny.

So here is the story.  My Blackberry died.  I am and aways have been a die-hard Blackberry fan.  I have had blackberries back before anyone knew what they were (back when they were ONLY email devices).

My Blackberry died last Tuesday.  I went to the AT&T store.  My contract was not yet up -- I couldn't qualify for any good discounts on phones (don't get me started on that...).

Anyways, I walked out of the store with an IPhone for less than a replacement Blackberry -- PLUS the monthly service was about $30.00/month cheaper than my Blackberry plan.

I don't need TelNav because the IPhone has Google Maps integrated (no GPS but the cell towers work nearly as well).  That saved me $10/month.

And the unlimited data plan was much cheaper starting at $20.00/month compared to $60.00.  I added $10.00/month for 1500 text messages and I was still $30.00/month ahead.

I'm not sure how the pricing works across the country -- But I am very happy with the IPhone (unexpectedly).  The mail and browser work very well and it's the closest thing you'll get to a real browser.

You could easily use the IPhone to do things like view/manage your WebsiteForge orders and even use your credit card gateway like Linkpoint and Authorize.net with the IPhone to process credit cards. Our Project Portal System works perfectly there too.

Just figured I'd share my experience! 

Shane Merem

www.websiteforge.com

Web site design and e-commerce

Hello everyone.  Some of you encouraged me to visit the Chicago Internet Retailer Expo this year.  So I have purchased my tickets!

I'll be there from June 9th to the 12th.

A few of our Website Forge partners will be there too.  Justin from www.gandlclothing.com and Brian Shockley from www.shopbakersnook.com to name a couple.

If anyone else is attending.. Drop me a line and I'll see if I can meet up with you to say hello.

The web site for the show is:  http://www.internetretailer.com/IRCE2008/

Shane Merem

www.websiteforge.com

Web site design and e-commerce

Hello.  You may have noticed the two empty BLOG posts around 7:30 PM EST.  Since we have high visibility in the Search Engines we are often a target of spammers.  The previous Word Press BLOG was catching probably 100-200 spam posts daily.  So our new BLOG is getting tested every minute :)

That is great news because it allows us to improve the code very quickly so that you won't run into these issues.

The two empty BLOG posts were random attempts to exploit our code to submit spam without our permission.  The spam failed but the posts did send.  Sergey is resolving this issue now (no, he never sleeps).

Of course all spam and security upgrades we perform will immediately transfer to your BLOG code as well.

Another big advantage of our BLOG is the "Image Text" field that requires a real live person to read and re-type text displayed in an image.  This makes a substantial decrease in automated spam attempts.

You can see the "Image Text" field when you post comments in this BLOG.

Thanks and let us know if you have any questions!

Shane Merem

www.websiteforge.com

Web Design and E-commerce

I get this call from Brian Shockley at www.shopbakersnook.com .  He's on cloud 9 telling me how his business won an award in the leading national wedding magazine in the country, "The Knot".  I think it's prudent to share some of his "award winning" business practices with all of you.

First and foremost Ann's first class cake design skills won the award! You just can't deny a great product!

Not only did they receive the #1 recommendation in his region, he was rated at over 92% in his category.  His nearest competitior was rated at 85% -- keep in mind that his nearest competitor advertises heavily in "The Knot" and Brian doesn't!  Now that's saying something!

I would love to take all the credit and say that the awesome Website Forge site is what made ShopBakersNook.com the first choice for wedding cakes -- however it was Brian and his partner, Ann, who provide excellent service.  The web site is just another extension of their business practices.  Website Forge provides the extraordinary set of e-commerce tools that he used to help make it happen.

At Shop Baker's Nook they:

- Constantly monitor how people use their site and search for products, often asking them if they can help via their chat software.

- Randomly offer gift certificates to customers to encourage repeat business.

- Call every customer that tried to purchase and for some reason had their credit card decline.  90% of the time he can help the customer figure out what went wrong and win the sale and impress the customer at the same time!

- Constantly e-mail existing customers and offer discounts and notify them of new products to keep their current customers thinking about them.

- And of course they TRULY have the best wedding cakes in the business!  That certainly goes a long way on it's own.

Congratulations Brian and the team over at www.shopbakersnook.com.  You Deserve it! 

Shane Merem
www.websiteforge.com
Web Site Design and E-commerce

Are you a Website Forge customer with a success story?  Contact me!

The entire Website Forge team wishes you a Happy Easter and Passover (and any other holiday I may have omitted :) )

Enjoy your holiday weekend!

Shane Merem
www.websiteforge.com
Website Design and E-commerce

Hello.

For years we used a company called www.virtualpbx.com for our voicemail system.  It's an excellent way to have a virtual phone system to route calls to different physical locations and cell phones.  We used that company for over 9 years.

Recently we switched Website Forge (888-558-2446) to a company called www.voiceshot.com .  We switched becuase Voiceshot offers something that VirtualPBX didn't.  A programming API.  I want to make sure I tell you that VirtualPBX is a MUCH better choice if you need a good phone system without a programming API.

A programming API will allow us to offer some enhanced support features to our customers.  First when you call in and hit support (option 2), we can access your account and do some basic troubleshooting BEFORE you talk to a technician.  For instance we can detect expired domains, full mailboxes, and other common support issues instantly.

This API will allow us to provide online billing information like your last payment date, oustanding balances, and when to expect the next charge on your credit card.

We also can create OUTBOUND call campaigns for mass notifications and marketing.

Right now we have the system configured with the basics.  We are adding these enhanced support features over the next few months.

I also wanted to share this with you because this same service might be useful to your business.  If you are interested in a database driven, interactive, virtual phone system -- let us know and I'll share my new knowledge.

Shane Merem
www.websiteforge.com
Website Design and E-commerce

I have had wireless internet devices since the very first RIM Blackberry.  In fact my Blackberry was listed as "MICH2".  Maybe it was the 2nd one in Michigan.

When Verizon came out with 1xx 56k wireless. I had it.

When Nextel had their very slow wireless card.  I had it.

Year after year wireless internet has become better and better.

Currently the two wireless internet technologies are called EVDO and 3G networks.  Verizon, Nextel (Sprint), and Cingular offer cards you can plug into your laptop and get great internet connectivity at very good speeds just about anywhere these days.  Some speeds are pretty close to broadband speeds and usually much better than DSL.

Here is what a cellular broadband card might look like:

NOW, to make this even sweeter -- you can purchase a real neat gadget called a "Cellular Wi-Fi Router".   Here is just one example:

http://sewelldirect.com/3g-phoebus-cellular-wi-fi-router.asp

This cool device will allow you to connect any number of wi-fi computers or laptops to the internet using your cellular internet card.  So instead of plugging the Verizon, Nextel, or Cingular card directly into ONE machine.  Plug it into this device and share the internet with any machine that has standard wi-fi wireless access.

So here is where the freedom kicks in!  you can:

*  Drive across the US with full high-speed internet access for as many laptops as you can fit into your car
*  Take full wi-fi wireless access with you camping
*  Have high speed internet in areas where DSL or Cable is not available or accessible
*  Have an emergency backup system to put your office back online when your cable, dsl, or T-1 lines are down
*  Just be the coolest geek in the group

Lets face it.  One of the perks of running a web based company is that you can work from anywhere!  So start doing it!

I hope you find this information useful.  I'll post a couple more wireless internet access tricks in the near future.

Shane Merem
www.websiteforge.com
Website Design and E-commerce

Hello everyone.  We are considering some television and radio advertising in the near future and are working on some concepts for a "Sound Logo".    A Sound Logo is basically a short clip used to reinforce a brand.  Most of you can imagine the sound at the end of a Duracell commercial.

I'm having a hard time deciding and hoped I could get some opinions.  Here are 3 MP3 files.  Please let me know which, if any, sound best and stick in your mind.  We are looking for that unique sound that will immediately identify Website Forge when heard.

CLICK HERE TO listen to Sound Logos

Please post comments with your thoughts.

Shane Merem

I found this e-mail very funny.  I thought I'd share.  We can all relate.

Shane Merem
Web Design and E-commerce
www.websiteforge.com

For all of us who feel only the deepest love and affection for the way computers have enhanced our lives, read on. At a recent computer expo (COMDEX), Bill Gates reportedly compared the computer industry with the auto industry and stated, "If GM had kept up with technology like the computer industry has, we would all be driving $25.00 cars that got 1,000 miles to the gallon."

In response to Bill's comments, General Motors issued a press release stating: If GM had developed technology like Microsoft, we would all be driving cars with the following characteristics (and I just love this part):

1. For no reason whatsoever, your car would crash twice a day.

2. Every time they repainted the lines in the road, you would have to buy a new car.

3. Occasionally your car would die on the freeway for no reason. You would have to pull to the side of the road, close all of the windows, shut off the car, restart it, and reopen the windows before you could continue. For some reason you would simply accept this.

4. Occasionally, executing a maneuver such as a left turn would cause your car to shut down and refuse to restart, in which case you would have to reinstall the engine.

5. Macintosh would make a car that was powered by the sun, was reliable, five times as fast and twice as easy to drive - but would run on only five percent of the roads.

6. The oil, water temperature, and alternator warning lights would all be replaced by a single "This Car Has Performed an Illegal Operation" warning light.

7. The airbag system would ask "Are you sure?" before deploying.

8. Occasionally, for no reason whatsoever, your car would lock you out and refuse to let you in until you simultaneously lifted the door handle, turned the key and grabbed hold of the radio antenna.

9. Every time a new car was introduced car buyers would have to learn how to drive all over again because none of the controls would operate in the same manner as the old car.

10. You'd have to press the "Start" button to turn the engine off.