There are a number of things it does so much better than the rest, stuff like different pricing groups, one page checkout etc etc etc.

However, there are a few things it doesn’t do too well – one of which was an issue with the TMP directory on the server the sites are on continually getting filled up, to the point where it would stop anything database driven from working.

Now obviously this is a fairly big issue – as most websites nowadays are (or should be) database driven – so we tried various things to see if we could get it to stop filling up, all with no success.

Then our in-house developer Dave noticed some php.ini files within the root, and the /admin folder of all opencart installations, and in these fields was this line;

session.gc_maxlifetime = 12000000;

This number is in seconds, so in hours that would be; 3,334 – which is 138 days!

Im pretty sure these don’t need to be stored for so long, so if we change that to 3600 – which is exactly one hour – we’re pretty confident that this issue will no longer happen, and hopefully the guys over at Openc

This morning we got an email from the big G regarding changes that are coming in the next few months, and if you dont adhere to the changes your feeds will be suspended and you wont get traffic from google product search any more!

The changes they are putting forward are to improve the google product service, by expanding the required attirbutes for each product – meaning they now require more info on each product which can only be a good thin for the public who use the service.

Detailed info on the new/adjusted requirements can be found here.

Most pre-made eCommerce software should be updated to include these new requirements, please contact your web developers or if you bought the software yourself contact the software author – there could be charges incurred if your site is very customised.

If you are not a dijitul.com customer, but need help getting your eCommerce platform up to spec in regards these new google base requirements then contact our eCommerce development team on 01623 650 333 or click here to email us.

The deal is hardly surprising as just last year eBay purchased a 49% stake in the company for around $22.5million, as it is thought eBay wish to incorporate Magento into its own ‘X Commerce’ software – however it will continue as a stand alone business until a way of doing this is figured out.

We don’t often use Magento here at dijitul, however, it will be very interesting to keep an eye on what it, along with eBay and Paypal can conjure up.

If you would like any help or assistance in getting your business online or information on ecommerce design, then please call the Web Design Nottingham team on 01623 650333.

Current CEO, Larry Page, obviously feels the same way, as Google are now currently running the ‘Best Of British Web’ competition, to reward the best British websites around.

The competition is for people to enter their small business website – 50 staff or less – and has 7 categories - Hospitality, Retail, Health and Beauty, B2B and Professional services, Trade and Manufacturing, Transport, and Travel. Each category will have a winner, who will be rewarded with a package of Google prizes, which include

• An Nexus S Android Smartphone (£439)
• Free AdWords advertising (£750)
• 10 Google Apps for Business accounts for one year (£330).
• Local and national PR coverage and an invitation to an event in London on Wednesday 13th July.

So, all you need is an attractive, functioning website, and you could well be in with a chance of transforming your businesses future – enter here.

If this competition, and the thought of being able to advertise to hundreds of millions of people via the internet is one which is attractive to you, then please get in touch with the friendly web design Nottingham team to discuss how we can help you get online.

Mr Schmidt praised the countries entrepreneurialism and willingness to embrace new technology, mainly due to the fact that the UK is the worlds leading nation in eCommerce, outdoing the ‘traditional’ technological giants such as the United States and China.

He also makes mention of the fact that UK internet spending in 2009 was worth an estimated £100billion – 7.2% of GPP – and that even ‘conservative’ estimates suggest that this will increase to 10% of GDP by 2015.

Schmidt also pointed out that of the 90million businesses in the world, less than 25% have a website, and strongly endorsed internet marketing, using the example of ‘ScotWeb’ who make 80% of their £1.5million turnover from their website. He finished by saying that he believed ‘when I look at the weakest parts of the global economy, I have no doubt that these small businesses, many of them here in the UK, will lead us to recovery’.

With an endorsement from someone who spent 10 years at the head of a multi-billion dollar business, what more encouragement do you need to take your business the next step and get online? If you would like more information about getting your business online, then please call the friendly Web Design Nottingham team on 01623 650333.

All of the statistics released show good news for the online auction giant, with a 20% rise in profits for the first 3 months of 2011 (compared to 2010) being the ‘Pièce de résistance’. Their profits grew from $398million to $476million, whilst overall revenue jumped an impressive 16% taking it to $2.55billion.

A large part of these impressive gains has been put down to the success of its pay pal division. Paypal accounts also increased 16% on last year, whilst sales volumes – excluding vehicles – grew 8% taking it to a huge $14.5billion.

So, whilst the high street is suffering, this is more evidence of the strength of ecommerce and the huge part it plays in the economy, making money that you may well be missing out on.

If  taking your company online with its own website is something that interests you then please call the Web Design Nottingham team on 01623 650333 for a friendly chat.

The growth – for January – March 2011 – returns us back to ‘square one’ in a way, following the 0.5% economic contraction we saw in the last 3 months of 2010. The news has drawn a mixed response from experts and the public alike, the fact that the country has avoided a second month of economic shrinkage is good news, however there had been hopes for more growth, especially as the governments ‘austerity measures’ – or, budget cuts – are still in their early stages.

The internet and E-Commerce still continues to grow and play a huge part in the economy throughout these tough times, showing the way in which the world is going, with more and more people going online.

If you want to take your business that next step and get online, then please call our friendly team of internet marketing and ecommerce experts on 01623 650333.

The new website, allows users to view a range of used cars from £3000 to £30000 and even ‘pre-order’ them online, however it is not possible to test drive the cars, a video of the car being used is the most someone can expect, although Tesco have insisted that the cars will all be strictly tested before being made available, with mechanical inspections from the RAC.

With a brand name such as Tesco now entering the 1million Google searches a month market of used cars, you have to wonder what effect this could have on the face of the market, will the small time used car dealership begin to disappear? and also how will this effect the internet shopping world? With the countries biggest retailer championing ecommerce for even large items such as cars, will we see further devlopment.

For more information regarding ecommerce design please call our friendly team on 01623 650333.

In 2010, the £288bn spent using debit card purchases (a 9.4% increase) actually outstripped cash payments which totalled £266bn. Internet shopping – particularly through the heavy shopping periods such as Christmas - is thought to be the reason behind this big increase in card payments as e-commerce continues to become more and more popular every year.

Its easy to see why, being able to shop whenever you feel, from the comfort of your own home, and compare prices and products with just a few clicks of the mouse, easy. These figures should be a wake up call for any business owners who are yet to take their business online, the amount of profit you will be missing out on is huge, and failure to evolve along with modern life, could ultimately lead to business failure.

We have a team who specialise in ecommerce building and optimisation to provide you with an easy to use, professional platform from which you can run your business online.

For more information on ecommerce web design give our team a call on 01623 650333.

Last years extremely bad weather has been burdened with a lot of the blame for this economic slump, with the huge amounts of snow driving people away from the high street, however the shrink was still more than the 0.5% expected due to the snow, fuelling fears that we could very well be heading on the dangerous path to a ‘double-dip’ recession.

The governments V.A.T rise and deep spending cuts have already been met with plenty of apprehension and questioning by financial experts and the public alike, and if this shrinking continues, you can guarantee the apprehension will turn to anger.

This news however, does follow the announcement a few days ago of ecommerce sales rose in both December and January based on last year, more stronger evidence that to increase sales and growth, more and more companies need to be getting online.