All of our Business Hosting Packages include email hosting, which also means that you have access to our provided email software SmarterMail. This provided email software has many features but I would like to concentrate on a few features that you may not be aware of and have complete ability to utilize. Eliminate third-party services and streamline your workflow with these easy-to-use built in Video Conferencing, Screen Sharing, and File Sharing tools.
There are plenty of video conferencing options available to choose from these days, however most of them require an account, a download or an app installation just to attend. There is nothing worse than wasting time trying to agree on a video conferencing app that your clients already have, prefer or have used in the past. This is where utilizing the available video conferencing software included with your Skynet Solutions Business Hosting package can shine. Create a meeting space and share a link to your client or viewer within seconds. The link will not require any sign up or download as its browser based and will only require an internet connection. It’s a simple one click process before being presented with very familiar video conferencing controls and interface. See our walk-thru guide here.
Meeting organizers have typical video conferencing control options like restricting guests, setting permissions, quality settings and password protecting meetings. Organizers and attendees can share their entire screens, specific applications or individual browser tabs during the meeting. Once a meeting workspace has been created it can be used multiple times or used as an ongoing meeting space.
Shared files and file storage are stored in SmartMail’s integrated File Storage area, making it an easy to access and download files even after the meeting has ended. After uploading files to your dedicated storage area you can send a link for download or set a secure password to allow for file downloading.
This was just a quick synopsis of two very important and available tools that you might not have been aware of. Please view our walk-thru guide on using these features in the blog article link below.
See our walk-thru guide for using SmarterMail Video Conferencing and File Sharing here:
Choosing and setting up payment processing or a payment processor for your e-commerce online business is a very important step. Often times business owners will opt for the easy and quick solution for this task. However the unforeseen and possible future repercussions from this quick decision can slow the overall growth of your business. Here are a few pro tips to consider when choosing your payment processing partner.
What are you selling? The products you sell and where you are selling them can be a deciding factor on your payment processing options. For instance, CBD product sales can pose problems when searching for a payment processing option. Contact us for help with finding a processor for CBD sales.
Understand your Limitations. Some processors will limit the countries you are allow to sell to and as mentioned above they can also dictate the products you are allowed to sell. Be sure to know all of the limitations with your processor before implementing with your online store. Frozen funds during suspicious activity or chargeback errors, that will come out of your pocket, is common when signing up for a provided payment processor like Shopify Payments.
Processing Fees. This seems like a big one but for some reason it is never scrutinized well enough during the review process. Your processing fees will most likely always go up in one fashion or another. Having multiple or stacked fees is the most common tactic used today. Shopify will charge you an additional transaction fee if you are NOT using their preferred in-house processing option.
If you are searching for alternative payment processing options for your online business please review our affiliate option at Payment Cloud. They have free cost comparisons, free gateway setup and no application or setup fees. We can help fill in the gaps as needed to help get your payment processing under your control.
We have another article posted with more information to consider for your payment processing – see the full article here.
eCommerce websites are our most valued product that we produce here at Skynet Solutions. We take great pride in providing people the means to start or grow their online business. And what a powerful thing it is to have and run and eCommerce Subscription website!
Recently Skynet Solutions helped another business get their boots on the ground with an eCommerce Subscription website for their CBD products. This model is a perfect fit for an audience looking to have a turn-key recurring purchase that is automated.
Skynet helped KAO Naturals develop and manage their new eCommerce Subscription website on a Woocommerce and WordPress platform. Coming from a shopify environment where every little thing costs another monthly fee, or doesn’t exist, they are now set up for sustainable financial growth. Taking control of their payment processing and being able to have the freedom to have specific software developed are only some of the benefits they were looking for. Shopify is great for a starting company or a small one person operation but not great for growing companies with continuous or growing revenue streams. Our custom website design allows KAO Naturals the ability to expand where they see fit.
If you currently use or looking into using CBD products please consider KAO Naturals for your next purchase. They are an American based company that also manufactures their products here in the USA. Its also great to do business with nice people – and KAO Naturals are a good bunch of people. Check their website out for more info and order today!
If you are needing eCommerce website design, creation or management please give us a call or contact us today. You can also view some of our previous work on our examples page.
Muscle Research has been in the online eCommerce business since 2004. Since that time, as any normal business evolution, Muscle Research has re-branded themselves and been through 5 different website designs. Most of the web changes over the years has dealt with visual aspects as well as keeping up with the ever changing internet and how people view and purchase online. But the time has come for their eCommerce Website Overhaul.
Its hard to imagine but Muscle Research had an eCommerce presence way before the internet was browsable on a mobile device. Yes, thats right; Pre iPhone era. Keeping up with technology and staying relevant on the online space with a constant struggle for any eCommerce business, even today.
This will be Muscle Research’s (mrsupps.com) 5th website re-design and its first overhaul. Skynet Solutions has retained a great relationship with MR over the past years and has completed most of the online and marketing work required for their eCommerce business. But this time it was different. Not only did we completely change the look and feel we helped to migrate them to WordPress.
Change is tough but can sometimes be completely necessary. Migrating information, improving SEO and tightening security measures are all very important aspects that Skynet Solutions meticulously handled during their eCommerce website overhaul. With the use of WordPress as the new website platform, we were able to integrate more marketing, analytics, customer retention and customer interaction methods into the website. We also developed a custom woocommerce product listing display for mobile applications.
Shipping is a big topic for any eCommerce business. Shipping processes can make or break your eCommerce store and cause a lot of turmoil for both parties. The MR web overhaul included integration with our own custom eCommerce fulfillment software plugin that we developed for a centrally located fulfillment company. This integration alone provided a continuity with their distributor and website to maintain and monitor stock levels. Muscle Research has settled into their new website and the added functionality will allow for future growth in an ever-changing environment.
See other examples of our work or contact us today if you require an eCommerce Website Overhaul or any assistance with your online business.
Recent updates to email spam filtering has lead to a lot more of unreceived messages for users across the world. Have you recently dealt with this? Out of nowhere you just STOP receiving emails from someone that you have a conversation going with….only reconnect and start the conversation over again weeks later? Messages that you were accustomed to receiving from people, suddenly and unbeknownst to you, end up in the spam folder. This can be frustrating and confusing for both parties and its been a common occurrence lately. Spam and Whitelist Management should be a topic of understanding and normal procedure moving forward.
How do I check my Spam and Whitelist Management?
We have some helpful information below on how to adjust your spam filters and modify your whitelist settings for some of the most popular email clients.
Why are my emails going to Spam or Junk folders all of a sudden?
Email marketing has grown in recent years but not in a completely positive way. More and more scams and fraudulent activity are happening online. Your personal information is being harvested, sold and shared to those looking to bring you curated messages for engagement and advertising purposes. However, this information is also privy to those with nefarious online motives. This advancement has led to tighter restrictions being enforced by the big dogs like: Microsoft (Yahoo & Outlook), iCloud (Apple) and Gmail (Google). Spam and Whitelist Management needs to be something that you look into now.
How do I avoid emails being placed in your Spam or Junk folder?
These three items are the basic steps taken in all of the procedures below.
1. Add your most commonly communicated email addresses as a “contact” on any of these services. Doing this first step will add these addresses to your Whitelist.
2. Adjust your spam filter settings. This is per email client but once done shouldn’t require any additional maintenance.
3. Regularly Monitor your spam folder. Emails that are placed in your spam or junk folder are typically only held for a few days before being automatically deleted. Checking your spam and junk folder, for each mail client, on a regular basis should be a part of your normal routine. When an email appears in your junk or spam folder that shouldn’t be there you can select that message and mark it as “not spam”. In most cases the email will be immediately removed and placed into the Inbox.
Outlook Email Process
Outlook.com is now the hub for Hotmail, Live Mail and other Microsoft email products.
Add people to your Safe Senders List via online web version of Outlook:
1. Select the Settings icon (gear icon)
2. Select View all Outlook settings
3. Select Mail
4. Select Junk Mail
5. Enter the sender email address
6. Select Add > Save
Mark an email as “not junk” in Outlook:
1. While in your Outlook folder list select the Junk Email folder and select the emails that shouldn’t be there
2. Right click the desired email and then select Mark as not junk.
Check blocked senders and safe senders list (check your whitelist and blacklist):
1. Select Settings > View all Outlook settings
2. Select Mail, and then select Junk email
3. If your see the senders address listed under the “Blocked senders and domains” select the address and then select Remove > Save
1. go to contacts.google.com
2. At the top left corner, select Create Contact
3. Fill out the contact information and be sure to include their sending email address
4. Select Save in the bottom right corner
On an Android mobile device:
1. Open the Contacts app
2. At the bottom right, touch Add
3. Enter the contact name and email address
4. Make sure you save the contact to the correct account. Next to your email account, tap the Down arrow and then select the account that will receive the email messages you’re whitelisting.
5. When you’re finished touch Save
Mark an email as Not Spam:
1. Open the Gmail website: https://mail.google.com
2. On the left select Spam
3. Find and open the desired message
4. At the top of the page select Not Spam
Gmail spam filter rule creation:
1. Open the Gmail website: https://mail.google.com
2. In the search box at the top select the down arrow
3. In the From field and enter the sender email address
4. At the bottom of the search window click the Create filter
5. Select Never send it to Spam
6. Click Create filter
For more information on Gmail Email Spam Filtering Settings please visit this Google support page:
1. Log into your Yahoo mail account, select Contacts icon
2. Select Add a new contact
3. Fill out the contact information and be sure to include their sending email address
Mark email as not spam from mobile device:
1. Log into your Yahoo mail in your mobile devices web browser
2. Touch the Sidebar Menu icon
3. Touch the Spam folder
4. Find and select the desired email
5. Touch the Move icon
6. Touch Inbox
Mark email as not spam from computer:
1. Log into your Yahoo mail with your web browser
2. Select the Spam folder (select more if not visible)
3. Open the desired email
4. Select Not Spam at the top of the page
Unblock an email address in Yahoo:
1. Select the Settings icon
2. Select More Settings
3. Select Security and Privacy
4. Hover over email address and then select the Delete icon
1. Log into your account at icloud.com, select Contacts, select the Add (+) button in the sidebar and then select New Contact
2. Fill out the contact information and be sure to include their sending email address
3. Select Done
Mark email as not spam on iOS mobile device:
1. Open the Mail app
2. Open the message in the Junk folder
3. Touch the folder icon at the bottom
4. Touch the Inbox to move the message
* this procedure will work for all accounts (yahoo/gmail) that are using your Mail app
Mark email as not spam on Mac:
1. Open the Mail app
2. Find or select the desired message
3. Select the Not Junk button in the Mail toolbar or simply drag the message to the Inbox in the sidebar
We hope that this small Spam and Whitelist management article helps to bring you resolve and understanding. If you are a business owner in need of email hosting, web hosting or eCommerce services please contact us!
One of the many steps to taking your business online is deciding how to accept payments.
Selecting an E-commerce payment system for your website can seem overwhelming to some with several questions and concerns instantly coming to mind. Where do I go? Who should I ask? Here is some helpful information that should help align your path.
Type of Website platform
Do you know what framework your website is running on? When approaching a payment processor this is one of the first questions they will ask. WordPress, Drupal, Wix, Shopify are just a few of the available website platforms. If you are using an all-in-one inclusive option like Wix or Shopify then you will be encouraged to use their easy one-click payment processing “setup wizard”. Which is great for some but will come at a cost. If you are using a framework like WordPress or Drupal then the setup is more manual. This shouldn’t come as a surprise as you have already taken the more calculated, timely and customizable approach. Ultimately you are only able to interface a payment system that can provide a secure portal or a software plugin for your websites platform.
If you are just getting going or testing the market with an idea; going the easy and quick route might be the best option. But if you are selling more substantial amounts through your website it would be wise to explore your payment processor options.
Type of Business or Industry
Some ecommerce businesses might have a more difficult time finding and securing a payment processor due to their line of business. CBD, supplement companies and many others suffer from constant regulations and display requirements to ensure continued service with their payment system. Having a great web team at your disposal, like Skynet Solutions, can help you with these requirements and keep you in compliance. Losing a way to accept money, as a business, can be a death blow.
Types of E-commerce Payment systems and which one to choose
There are many companies offering payment processing systems that are actually resellers. Skynet Solutions is one of those, please reach our if you need help selecting a payment processor for your website. So which one do you choose? Well, depending on the above items (website platform and industry) that may have already been answered!
Integration Its always best to integrate your payment system with your website via a software plugin API if the option is available. This provides more control options directly from your websites admin section for things like refunds or additional charges.
Rates This is what it ultimately comes down to: What is the percentage or rate are they going to take off of the top of your profits? This is a major factor that is surprisingly overlooked! There are often times details in the specifics that can affect and change this rate depending on your volume or other circumstances. In the event you are confronted with an “easy setup wizard” will you tell them no? Or will you explore your options first?
Muscle Research has been in the online eCommerce business since 2004. Since that time, as any normal business evolution, Muscle Research has re-branded themselves and been through 5 different website designs. Most of the web changes over the years has dealt with visual aspects as well as keeping up with the ever changing internet and how people view and purchase online. But the time has come for their eCommerce Website Overhaul.
Outlook Email Process
Gmail Email Process
Yahoo Email Process
iCloud Email Process