Just implemented as suggested in this post: http://blogs.keynote.com/the_watch/2011/09/filtering-out-web-performance-monitoring-traffic-from-google-analytics.html

As the post notes it does not apply to historic traffic so I guess I have to wait until tomorrow to see if it really works.

Thanks Keynote!

http://960.gs/

If this ever happens do the following to switch back:

1. Open up your admin panel (cPanel or other)
2. Go to phpMyAdmin (if MySql)
3. Find your Magento Database
4. Find table “core_config_data”
5. Look for the columns “web/secure/use_in_frontend” and “web/secure/use_in_adminhtml”
6. Edit both values, make them equal to “0″

After this is done you will be back in action.

Go buy something!

Ford Accessories
Lincoln Accessories
Mercury Accessories

1. Add reference to CMS block in transactional email template

 {{block type="cms/block" block_id="ford-order-confirmation-promotions" }}

2. Create CMS block, make sure identifier of block matches.
3. Test your email

Simple right? This could be taken a step further with a little code to select a CMS block based on certain conditions (customer type, purchase history, etc). Anyone want to share that code?

Copy the file “default.phtml” from here: “app/design/frontend/default/default/template/checkout/cart/item/” to your local template directory.

Something like “app/design/frontend/default/”your_template”/template/checkout/cart/item/”

Add the following under the product title:

        SKU: <?php echo $_item->getSku() ?>

Finished:

<h4 class="title"><a href="<?php echo $this->getProductUrl() ?>"><?php echo $this->getProductName() ?> </a></h4>
        SKU: <?php echo $_item->getSku() ?>

What happens if you don’t have the data and you have 15,000+ items in your catalog?

• Hire someone to associate all products?
• Randomly apply products in your data feed?
• Develop custom code?

All of the above items are true for my Medical Supplies business – Medical Delivered so I needed a solution.  I decided to auto assign cross sell products on the front end on product page render.

In action: http://www.medicaldelivered.com/medline-k1-excel-wheelchair.html

Rules:

1. The item must be “visible”
2. The item must reside in the same category as the current item
3. Don’t display the item from the current product detail page

Results:

1. All products automatically have cross sells displayed
2. No need to assign products on the back end
3. BAD:  Less control over items displayed

This solution won’t work for everyone, if you are an advanced retailer you won’t want to lose this control but if you just want cross sells and don’t have the time/resources to define manually you can try the code below.

Path:  app/design/frontend/default/<template>/catalog/product/list/upsell.phtml

(you may need to create this path – make sure to replace <template> with your template name)

<?php
/**
* Magento
*
* NOTICE OF LICENSE
*
* This source file is subject to the Academic Free License (AFL 3.0)
* that is bundled with this package in the file LICENSE_AFL.txt.
* It is also available through the world-wide-web at this URL:
* http://opensource.org/licenses/afl-3.0.php
* If you did not receive a copy of the license and are unable to
* obtain it through the world-wide-web, please send an email
* to license@magentocommerce.com so we can send you a copy immediately.
*
* DISCLAIMER
*
* Do not edit or add to this file if you wish to upgrade Magento to newer
* versions in the future. If you wish to customize Magento for your
* needs please refer to http://www.magentocommerce.com for more information.
*
* @category   design_default
* @package    Mage
* @copyright  Copyright (c) 2008 Irubin Consulting Inc. DBA Varien (http://www.varien.com)
* @license    http://opensource.org/licenses/afl-3.0.php  Academic Free License (AFL 3.0)
* @author        Nick Cron
* @authorweb  www.njcmedia.com
*/
?>
<?php
$_related = $this->getProduct();
// get the parent id to skip
$_parentid = $_related->getId();

if ($_related) {
// get collection of categories this product is associated with
$categories =$_related->getCategoryCollection()
->setPage(1, 1)
->load();

// if the product is associated with any category
if ($categories->count())
foreach ($categories as $_category)
{
$cur_category = Mage::getModel('catalog/category')->load($_category->getId());

?>

<div>
<div><h4><?php echo $this->__('You may also be interested in the following product(s)') ?></h4></div>
<table cellspacing="0" id="upsell-product-table">

<tr>

<?php

$visibility = array(
Mage_Catalog_Model_Product_Visibility::VISIBILITY_BOTH,
Mage_Catalog_Model_Product_Visibility::VISIBILITY_IN_CATALOG
);

$products = Mage::getResourceModel('catalog/product_collection')
->addCategoryFilter($_category)
->addAttributeToFilter('visibility', $visibility)
->addAttributeToSelect('small_image');

$products->getSelect()->limit(5);

// count the number of displayed products
$_i=0;

foreach ( $products as $productModel )       {
$_related = Mage::getModel('catalog/product')->load($productModel->getId());
$_realtedid = $_related->getId();

// prevents displaying the same product your are already on
if ($_realtedid != $_parentid && $_i<4):

?>

<td>
<p><a href="<?php echo $_related->getProductUrl() ?>"><img src="<?php echo $this->helper('catalog/image')->init($_related, 'small_image')->resize(125) ?>" width="125" height="125" alt="<?php echo $this->htmlEscape($_related->getName()) ?>" /></a></p>
<h5><a href="<?php echo $_related->getProductUrl() ?>"><?php echo $this->htmlEscape($_related->getName()) ?></a></h5>

<?php echo $this->getPriceHtml($_related, true) ?>
<?php echo $this->getReviewsSummaryHtml($_related) ?>
</td>

<?php
// increment displayed products
$_i++;
endif;
}
?>

</tr>

<?php }
}
?>
</table>
<script type="text/javascript">decorateTable('upsell-product-table')</script>
</div>

Room for improvement:

1. Display items from the back end if exist
2. Display only items with images
3. ..?

I hope this helps someone.  If you have any suggestions for improvement or code upgrades/fixes please let me know in the comments.

 <br/> 

html tags to product descriptions for display on the customer interface.  If you have created a nice description with the WYSIWYG Editor or imported HTML descriptions you most likely want to remove this behavior.   Luckily this is not hard to do.

1.  Find the file “description.phtml” here:  /app/design/frontend/base/default/template/catalog/product/view/description.phtml

2. Make a local copy by copying the file to your local template.  You may need to create the same path in your Magento template (you never want to change core code for upgrade reasons).

New Path: app/design/frontend/default/<template name>/template/catalog/product/view/description.phtml

3.  Remove the “nl2br” tag

Before:

<div>
<?php echo $this->helper('catalog/output')->productAttribute($this->getProduct(), nl2br($this->getProduct()->getDescription()), 'description') ?>
</div>

After:

<div>
<?php echo $this->helper('catalog/output')->productAttribute($this->getProduct(),     $this->getProduct()->getDescription()), 'description' ?>
</div>

4.  Upload the file to your server.

Lucky for us someone has solved this problem with free software for your Mac.   Download MouseZoom X – and you will be off and running.

The program adds a little control under “Other” in your systems settings panel which allows you to increase your magic mouse speed.

There were two main features that really impressed me:

1. Indication of the number of call center agents available in real time

2. Web ID value allowing session control from the call center

Real Time Call Center Status

BACKGROUND: I was looking to replace an existing surround sound system with a new receiver with HDMI switching to support some new devices.   I wondered if my existing speakers could be used so I checked the impedance and found they run on 4 ohms but the receiver I was looking at was only stable from 8+ ohms.  I wanted to check into some creative wiring techniques to increase the impedance to 8 ohms so I decided I would give Crutchfield a call.

I noticed in the header of the site the call center number was changing based on my location on the site – I am guessing to send me to the correct department.   The unique aspect was a indication of the number of representatives available to answer my call.  I noticed this number was changing in real time (assuming AJAX) so my expectation was set that an actual human would eventually answer.

When I noticed a few agents were available I called.  I was surprised when after 2 rings an agent answered.  I started by telling them I needed to speak to someone about home audio – I assumed I would be transferred.   Instead the agent said, “What do you need to know”.  I then told him the model of my existing system (I have had it for ~4 years) and he was familiar with it and had all the answers right away.  AWESOME!

Session Control via Web ID

At this point I was impressed with the service and had developed some trust with this agent (he obviously knew what he was talking about).  We had determined that my existing system would need a major overhaul to work as desired so I asked for suggestions on replacing the whole system.  As expected he had lots of suggestions but this is where a feature I have not seen previously came into play.

This is how it went:

Call Center – “I would like to show you an item, can you scroll to the bottom of the page and read me the web id number”

Me – “Sure, let me take a look”

Call Center – “Thanks, now please refresh your page”

Me – “Ok” (wondering what would happen)

After refresh I was on the product detail page for the item he wanted me to see.  WOW!

Why does this matter?

1. The call center agent does not have to read me a SKU and tell me to enter it (lots of room for error)

2. The call center agent is ensured I will be looking at the correct page

3. This method is “idiot proof” – no time telling customers where the search box is, how to search, etc

4. This could be used for multiple purposes – think help pages, checkout, etc

How does it work?

Note: I am guessing here

1. Assign unique session ID for each visitor (most if not all systems do this automatically)

2. Assign Web ID numbers for each active session (display Web ID mapped to session in footer)

3. Allow Call Center agents to enter a next URL for the session by Web ID

4. Control the session via the web/app server and push the redirect URL for the next request

This sounds pretty easy conceptually but would get complicated with a clustered environment and lots of active sessions.

What do you think?  I have a feeling we might see this feature popping up around the web soon.  I might even make a Magento Extension for this session control feature.  Let me know if you would be interested in using this extension.