In the Upgrades section, you will get the latest information on Avalon Solution’s Current Upgrades, New ECommerce Module Releases, Future Plans, as well as other Technical News & Information.

Avalon Solution will be constantly making minor modifications and upgrades behind the scenes to enhance not only the look & feel of our customer’s websites but also its ease of use and functionality to the consumers. In this process of continuous improvement, we will from time to time introduce & implement new features on our ECommerce Web Services to provide our customers a year around selling tool to grow their business and build their brand.

Our recent updates, releases & future plans are listed below for your reference:

In Ver. 2.0 of our ECommerce Website, which is planned to be released in the next 4-6 Months, we will be rolling out our new website template to enable you to tailor the look & feel of your website to your store’s unique brand. You will be able to select from multiple templates, layouts & color themes to run on your website. You will have the choice of different Website Templates, Flash Introductions & Color Themes to suit your brand and the image that you want to project.

In Ver. 2.0 of your website, you will be able to customize over 20 different custom tabs that you can create & manage on your website. You can utilize these custom pages for advertising & marketing, providing links to other websites, showcasing your products & services such as estate jewelry or loose diamonds, or informing your customers about special offers or upcoming events. You will also be able to select different Jewelry & Watch Brands to be displayed separately, add more information about your store, your staff and your services, and much more…etc.

In Ver. 2.0, Avalon Solution will introduce the facility to Upload your own Jewelry Products, Watches, and Gifts on your website. Your uploaded products will be seamlessly integrated with your existing jewelry products all in the jewelry categories and designer collections of your choice. This Product Upload module will have a very easy to use interface through which you or any of your assigned staff will be able to upload your new products into their proper product categories along with the images and details of those products. You will also be able to manage & modify your existing website products, their images, descriptions, details and selling prices.

Integrated within this module will be an Image Uploader that will automatically take your product images, optimize them and convert them into multiple images - thumbnail, product detail and zoom images - ready to be displayed onto your website.

Avalon Solution is currently working to incorporate a customized Shopping Cart functionality to our web services. Your customers will be able to purchase your products online using a secure shopping cart and pay by multiple methods of their choice such as checks, bank transfers, your current in-store credit card, PayPal, Google Checkout or a fully integrated payment gateway able to accept online credit card payments.

Avalon Solution will integrate your website with SSl security, making online shopping safe and secure. Your customers will be able to add products to their Wish List and later transfer them to their Shopping Cart, or directly place their orders through a very fast and easy process. Your customers will be able to place orders, track their shipping status via FedEx or UPS, as well as search through their order history and save products in their wish list to be purchased later.

In the next few weeks, we plan to release the Admin Section Ver. 1.5 on your Website. The new Admin Section will enable you to not only tailor the look & feel of your website according to your needs but also introduces some new sections that will help you to add & upload your existing customer list, search & manage your website customers, adjust your retail & sale prices for any seasonal market trends, advanced web page editor & image upload facilities to customize your website contents, improve your website’s ranking on top search engines with custom keywords & meta tags, select your own designer & watch collection brand logo’s and more…..

Admin Section 1.5 Release covers:

Improved Customer Management Module

Improved Product & Pricing Module

SEO Keywords Management Module

Designer Jewelry Brands Management Module

Watch Brands Management Module

Promotions Text Management

Improved Text and Image Editor

Avalon Solution has recently implemented Favicon on your website as a visual reminder of your website’s identity and a reinforcement of your store’s brand.

Favicon is a small image or icon associated with a particular website displayed by the internet browser in the address box just before the URL and in the Favorites (Bookmarks) pane and menu. It is also known as website icon, page icon, logo or url icon.

Avalon Solution has digitally optimized your Favicon in Adobe Photoshop & Fireworks and integrated it with your website coding, so that today’s web browsers can utilize them to further enhance your brand and user’s website experience. Our Web Designers & Imaging Team have designed and customized your Favicon to closely match your existing Store’s Logo. During the last few weeks Avalon’s technical team has implemented your customized Favicon on your website. Your customers will now see your logo or icon associated with your website’s URL whenever they visit your website.

Avalon Solution has implemented Search Engine Optimization (SEO) to improve your website ranking on the most popular search engines like Yahoo, Google & MSN. SEO is the process of optimizing your website to enable Search Engines to read & index your website contents properly. We have optimized your website pages by making major changes in over 1,500 lines of your website coding & structure to increase your website traffic and help you grow your business.

Benefits of Search Engine Optimization:

Improved Ranking
    SEO will give improved Ranking of your website on the most popular Search Engines like Google,
    Yahoo & MSN.

Increase in Targeted Traffic
    It increases the number of visitors to your website who actively search for your Jewelry Store &
    Geographical Location.

Cost-Effective Marketing & Increase in Brand Visibility
    SEO is among the most cost-effective ways of marketing. It will promote your website and grow
    your business within your geographical area.

Improved Website Structure
    SEO will provide a more pleasant user experience to your Website Visitors with better usability,
    accessibility and cross-browser compatibility.

Results in Short Term
    Search Engine Optimization is the fastest method of improving your website’s ranking in search
    results.

We are delighted to inform you that the New 2008 Bridal/Anniversary & SpringTime ECatalogs were uploaded on Your Website on May 15, 2008. The 2008 Bridal & SpringTime ECatalogs gives you the opportunity to showcase this Extraordinary Collection on your Website for your Online Visitors and provides you with the flexibility to Extend these ECatalogs into a Year around Selling Tool Available to Your Customers 24/7.

These exclusive Flash ECatalogs include the best of traditional as well as contemporary jewelry designs, and offers impressive and brilliantly crafted styles containing Half Moon Designs, Trapezoid Diamond Designs, Signature Micro Pave Collection, Timeless Bridal Classics, Eternal Engagement Rings & Anniversary Bands and other Treasures for multiple Gift Giving Occasions. These ECatalogs include over 650 Styles as well as Over 265 New Bridal & Anniversary Jewelry Designs which will allow your Website Visitors to browse your jewelry collection by exploring high quality images embedded in a digital electronic catalog.

'The Diamond Dust' Flash Intro showcases our New 2008 Model alongside Diamond Dust magically appearing and turning into Beautiful Jewelry – the perfect synthesis of technology to integrate both Fashion & Style with the Beauty & Romance of Jewelry seamlessly into your Website.

As part of our service included in your yearly Hosting & Maintenance Charges, Avalon Solution has uploaded the New 2008 Intro Page & Home Page Flash Presentation on your Website. These Enhancements will give a fresh new look to your website.

'The Joy of Spring' Flash Intro highlights Cascade of Flowers representing the natural beauty of the ever-changing Seasons, whereas the twinkling Easter Ornament welcomes your website visitors with the Joy of Spring. This attractive Flash Intro will be available on your website from March 7, 2008 to April 1, 2008, as a supplement to the Bridal 2008 Collection.

'The Romance of Valentine' Flash Intro shows Cascade of Pulsating Hearts representing the Essence of Love, whereas the Red Heart Shaped Twinkling Ornament welcomes your website visitors with the Romance of Valentines. This gorgeous Flash Intro will run on your website from Jan 25, 2008 to Feb 25, 2008, just in time to get your customers in the mood for buying for the second best occasion for selling jewelry.

'The Spirit of the Holiday Season' Flash Intro highlights Winter Snowflakes which represent the natural beauty of the ever-changing seasons and the Red Heart Shaped Twinkling Ornamentation greets your website visitors with the Merry Spirit of the Holidays. This eye-catching Flash Intro will be available on your website from December 15, 2007 to January 15, 2008, just in time to get your customers in the mood for buying.

Avalon Solution has always used the latest technology and best web services and applications. Our designing and programming teams are continuously working on new features to improve our ecommerce solution. We know that you are also curious about these new services and technology. Please read the articles below to get more information regarding these issues:

ECommerce stands for Electronic Commerce. ECommerce is the process of buying or selling goods or services via the internet. This is most commonly done though a merchant's or service provider's website and usually involves an online catalog and shopping cart. Payments are processed with an online gateway such as Authorize.Net, PayPal, Google Checkout etc.

Avalon Solution is currently working to incorporate a customized Shopping Cart functionality to our web services. Your customers will be able to purchase your products online using a secure shopping cart and pay by multiple methods of their choice such as checks, bank transfers, your current in-store credit card, PayPal, Google Checkout, or a fully integrated payment gateway able to accept online credit card payments.

Avalon Solution will integrate your website with SSl security, making online shopping safe and secure. Your customers will be able to add products to their Wish List and later transfer them to their Shopping Cart, or directly place their orders through a very fast and easy process. Your customers will be able to place orders, track their shipping status via FedEx or UPS, as well as search through their order history and save products in their wish list to be purchased later.

Requirement for ECommerce Solution

To introduce and offer ECommerce Solution, we are integrating following processes and services:

Shopping Cart

We will introduce very fast and easy checkout process by integrating a Shopping Cart on our customers’ websites. This shopping cart will be integrated and work in accordance with our Wish List, Order Processing and Tracking Modules. Any website user will be able to maintain an active shopping cart and buy goods online by continuing the checkout process.

Payment Gateway

Payment Gateway is required to offer ecommerce services, as it allows you to receive fully-encrypt all credit card transactions and payments that come through your site. More or less, a payment gateway facilitates a secure transaction between your site and the customer’s payment. We will facilitate Avalon Customers to select and use various payment options for their websites.

Merchant Account

A relationship that we will establish between our Avalon Customers and a bank, enabling them to accept online transactions. We will facilitate Avalon Customers to open Merchant Account for their online transactions.

SSL Installation

Secure Sockets Layer is an Internet protocol that safeguards electronic communications between two or more computers. When transmissions are sent over an SSL connection, data is encrypted and cannot be modified in transit by other parties on the Internet. To safeguard Avalon Customers with a Shopping Cart, we will implement SSL Technology on their websites.

Fraud Protection Service

The malicious practice by untrustworthy and dishonest people to use stolen personal information, credit card information and/or compromised bank account information for personal gain; not limited to the purchase of merchandise, the submission of fraudulent transactions, or the abuse of a merchant’s purchase policies or ecommerce web site to check the validity of stolen payment information. To safeguard Avalon Customers with shopping cart and payment gateways we will introduce Fraud Protection Service on their websites.

Payment Gateway connects your ECommerce Website to your Merchant Account. The gateway facilitates online payments by connecting your secure order form with your specific merchant account at a processing bank. The gateway takes the submitted form data and presents it to the processing bank. When it receives a response from the bank, it presents that return data to the site of origin for appropriate handling.

One of the greatest concerns for all parties involved in an ecommerce transaction is Security. Not only is your sensitive information kept on file, but your customers' personal information passes through your gateway every day. This information is of considerable value to hackers, so it must be protected. So, when you choose a gateway provider, you must be confident that security is the provider's number one priority. Payment gateways check validity of the transaction, encrypt sensitive information, such as credit card numbers, ensure that information passes securely between the customer and the merchant and then decrypts the responses which are sent back to the shopping cart.

This is a seamless process and your customer does not directly interact with the gateway, as data is forwarded to the gateway via your shopping cart and a secure (SSL) connection. The shopping cart is configured via plug-ins to send information in a format that is acceptable to the particular gateway. The proper choice of payment gateway is another vital element which will contribute to your success or failure as an online business.

Required Payment Gateway Features

Most online merchants don't realize that their gateway may offer many more features than the ability to accept credit cards through an online form. The truth is that most gateway providers offer value-added features that either make the merchant's life easier, or help to increase your revenue streams. Here are some of the more common features:

Virtual Terminal

A virtual terminal is a Web form that's accessible to the merchant, and allows that merchant to enter credit card payments manually.

Fraud Prevention

Fraud prevention tools are probably the most important, yet under-utilized, feature offered by the major gateways. Utilizing the fraud prevention tools offered by your gateway provider will allow you to spend less time dealing with chargeback’s, and more time making sales and promoting your business.

Recurring Billing

Merchants who charge their customers on a periodic basis will find the recurring billing feature offered by many gateways a big time-saver. Using recurring billing, you can simply provide your gateway with billing information and set it as per the recurring billing dates, the gateway takes care of the rest.

eCheck Processing

Although credit cards are the most popular way to pay online, other payment options shouldn't be ignored. Electronic checks (eChecks) are an increasingly popular payment method that allows customers simply to enter their banking information, rather than physically send a check by mail.

Fees for Payment Gateway

Payment Gateways generally charge following fees for using their services:

Setup fees

Setup fees are charged when you first establish your gateway (before it's built), and are generally non-refundable.

Monthly fees

Payment Gateway providers charge a monthly fee for their service. This fee is usually independent of monthly processing volume.

Transaction fees

Most providers charge for every transaction they process, regardless of whether the transaction has been approved or declined.

Additional Features

Generally, gateways charge for any additional features you might decide to use.

How Payment Gateways Work?

A payment gateway is a system which processes credit cards on your behalf. Visitors on your site enter their credit card details into a secure form, from where they are securely passed to the payment gateway. The gateway has a direct connection to the banking network and checks the validity of the card and performs a transfer of funds from the credit card to your merchant account. It then returns a result code to your web server to indicate success or failure. Using this system you never have to worry about storing credit card details on your server. You just need to pass this information when required.

The merchant account is a separate function managed by a Bank and has variable fees associated with the set-up and use of the account. An Online Bank Account required by a store to receive payments through electronic mediums like credit cards. It can be considered as a virtual bank account that receives electronic money. A merchant account allows a business to accept credit cards, debit cards, gift cards and other forms of payment cards. This is also widely known as payment processing or credit card processing.

A Merchant Account Provider will open an account for you at a financial institution (a bank with whom they're partnered) that can handle Internet transactions and approves your credit history. Be aware that there are a lot of Merchant Account Providers out there who aren't reputable, so make sure you check them out before you commit to one.

The first step to accepting online payment, either by credit and debit card or by any other mode, is to set up a merchant account - these are not bank accounts as such, but accounts that allow card payments and chargeback’s to be made to a merchant-nominated bank account. All Merchant Accounts will have some kind of set up or application fee. Where there is not an initial fee, you can be sure that the Provider will try to make up the difference on a software or equipment sale, or by otherwise marking up the transaction and service charges.

Before setting up a merchant account, acquiring bank may request following information:

Business History and Performance

Business Accounts

Forecast Turnover

Expected Average Transaction Values and Volumes on Credit and Debit Cards

Transaction Frequencies

Type of Goods for Sell

Proportion of Transactions Based on Face to Face, by Phone, Mail Order or Online

Suppliers' Details

Shipping Services

A person may need to open a number of merchant accounts if he wants to accept card payments for different sales channels. One should speak to the Banking Manager about such particular requirements. It takes between one and four weeks to open a merchant account. The process may take slightly longer for start-up businesses and banks may want to see additional information such as a business plan and cash flow forecasts.

Secure Sockets Layer is an Internet protocol that safeguards electronic communications between two or more computers. When transmissions are sent over an SSL connection, data is encrypted and cannot be modified in transit by other parties on the Internet. Websites that use SSL technology are indicated by an “https” in their Web address, and a lock icon at the bottom right of the browser window. There are well established players who provide SSL certification such as Thawte, Verisign, Comodo, GoDaddy and EquiFax.

How does a Secure Certificate work?

A secure server is a Web server application that ensures secure information transfer between a Web server and a Web browser. The encryption is done with a protocol called SSL (Secure Socket Layer). When you connect to a secure server with your browser, the server and the browser use Secure Socket Layer to tell each other how to encrypt the information - then they can securely exchange the data. For example, encryption will allow you to send credit card information to a secure server without anyone being able to identify what kind of information it is.

So, the first task that a secure server completes is the encryption of your information. However, it also does a whole lot more. The most important task a secure server performs is to identify itself to the browser, which it achieves presenting a digital certificate to those browsers who request a secure connection. The certificate works for a secure server the same way as a driver's license works for you, except that it's much more difficult to fake.

All of the above happens absolutely transparently for the person who's browsing the site. Their browser just tells them that the secure connection was established and then shows the page. The most important thing from an Internet merchant's perspective is that this gives your customer more confidence, and convinces them that their order information will be transferred to you safely and securely.

The malicious practice by untrustworthy and dishonest people to use stolen personal information, credit card information and/or compromised bank account information for personal gain; not limited to the purchase of merchandise, the submission of fraudulent transactions, or the abuse of a merchant’s purchase policies or ecommerce web site to check the validity of stolen payment information.

Fraud prevention tools are probably the most important, yet under-utilized, feature offered by the major gateways. Merchants whose stores have been online for over six months will have been introduced to chargeback’s, and will probably have first-hand experience of their negative effects. One of the main causes of chargeback’s for online transactions is fraud. Utilizing the fraud prevention tools offered by your gateway provider will allow you to spend less time dealing with chargeback’s, and more time making sales and promoting your business.

The gateways generally support the basic fraud prevention tools. These include Address Verification (AVS), which compares the customer's delivery address with the address that the card-issuing bank has on file, and CVV2, the three-digit security number that appears on the back of VISA, MasterCard, and Discover Card credit cards (a four-digit number on the front of American Express cards).

Fraud Prevention Features

A payment gateway generally offers services to identify fraudulent transactions before your product ships (and you're hit with a chargeback). Fraud Prevention features list includes:

An amount filter that sets upper and lower value limits for "acceptable" sales.

A velocity filter that limits the number of transactions that can be received per hour from a given
    customer.

An address mismatch filter that detects instances in which billing and shipping addresses differ.

An IP filter that isolates suspicious activity from one IP address.

A suspicious transaction filter based on payment gateway's own criteria.

IP blocking functionality, which allows you to block the IP addresses of known frauds.

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