Orthodox Biz Blog

When was the last time that your image presentation in Virtuemart actually wowed a client? Okay, the default image handling isn't too bad. You get a thumbnail, which pops up into a lightbox. If you need multiple images, then you get a stack of thumbnails on the product details page - which also pop up into lightboxes.

Frankly, it's all a little ho-hum to say the least. Much of what we sell on our CorShops site is actually software, so we don't need the images so much. After all, we can demo the software and that helps sell the sizzle. But most of our development clients sell physical products, and they need to put these in the best possible light. And that light is usually not a 'lightbox,' which is why we created the FlyTabs Virtuemart Theme.

Virtuemart is a great shopping cart, but the core system has three big problems when it comes to handling images. First, the default option on a Category page is that clicking the product image thumbnail pops up a bigger image, instead of leading to the product details!

That just makes people mad. Online shoppers normally expect to get product details, not a bigger image. That is why our FlyTabs Virtuemart Theme has the option to link product images to product details.

Obama's stimulus plan won't help the economy, and might actually sound the death knell of the dollar. After all, the whole thing is predicated on the idea that you can borrow and spend your way to prosperity. That is just plain nuts, of course. You don't borrow your way to wealth - you produce your way to wealth. Americans are tapped out and swimming in debt, so producing for the domestic market is a tough slog right now. Good thing there is a big world out there, and a good way to sell what you produce is to target it.

A Website exists for a reason. That seems axiomatic, but the fact is that many Website owners lose site of that fundamental fact. Before taking on any Web project, I always ask future Web entrepreneurs, "What is the purpose of your Website, and how do you plan to make money off it?"