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Click a help topic below to view it. If you need more help, check to see if your question has already been answered in the FAQs or on Get Satisfaction. If it hasn't, feel free to Contact Us
Overview - Shopfront.com is a “business building community” that allows you to create “shopfronts”- online business profiles used to tell the story behind a business and sell products, services and events.
- We provide tools for the management and promotion of a business, as well as the ability to connect with other users. Our business startup guide, Slingshot, can help you develop an idea and turn it into a remarkable business that is always being improved.
- We also make it easy to buy from the new and growing businesses on our site.
Searching & Buying - It is easy to find and buy products, services and events on shopfront.com. You do not have to sign up until you are ready to checkout. When you buy stuff on shopfront.com, you are supporting people like yourself who are starting new businesses.
Shopfronts
- “Shopfronts” are literally online shopfronts that people use to represent their businesses. Click here to see an example of a shopfront. It is free to start a shopfront.
- A shopfront is divided into separate pages that can be navigated using the tabs at the top of the shopfront:
- Shopfront Page
- This is the main page of the shopfront. It displays information about the person’s business. You are able to search the shopfront for items using the “Search” box.
- You are able to contact the owner of the shopfront at any time using the messaging system or other contact details listed by the shopfront owner.
- If you find a shopfront that is offensive, fraudulent or fake, you can let us know by clicking “report as inappropriate”.
- If you like the shopfront, you can add it to your “favorite shopfronts” for fast access to the shopfront later on. You must be signed up to use this feature.
- What We Sell
- This page lists all of the items available from the shopfront. Items can be products, services or events.
- Clicking on an item listing opens that item's “Item Description Page”. Here you can view photos and information about the item.
- If you wish to purchase a product or event, select the quantity as well as any desired options and click “add to cart”. This button will take you to the secure checkout. If the item is a service, click “Make an enquiry” and await a reply from the shopfront owner.
- Customer Reviews
- This page contains reviews from other people who have bought something from the shopfront. You can only leave a review for a shopfront if you have bought one of its items.
- Gallery
- This page shows Photos, Audio and Video from the shopfront. Click images to blow them up to full size.
- Blog
- This page shows articles written by the shopfront owner, as well as the latest news from the shopfront.
Searching
- You can search for products, services and events using the search engine. This is the blue box found on most pages. Simply type what you are looking for and hit the “search arrow”. If you want a local item, you can enter a zip code, city or state to search in.
- When you click the “search arrow”, you will be shown a list of search results. Clicking on an item will open that item’s “Item Detail” page in the shopfront that the item belongs to. Clicking on the name of the shopfront in the search result will open that shopfront.
Shopfront.com Community
- The Shopfront.com Community Page contains information about shopfront.com as well as resources for shopfront owners and buyers.
Signing Up - To sign up to shopfront.com, click the “Sign Up” button in the header or on the home page. You will be asked to enter some personal information. We do everything in our power to protect this information and give you control over your privacy. See our Privacy Policy for more details on the information we collect about you and how we use it.
- Once you have signed up you will be asked to confirm your email address. An email with instructions and a confirmation link will be sent to you immediately.
Logging In
- You can log in at any time on the homepage, or by clicking the “Log In” button in the header.
- If you forget your password, you can have it emailed to you by clicking the “forgot password” link. If you have forgotten your username, Contact Us and provide us with the email address that you signed up with.
- When you log in you will be sent to your “My HQ” page. You can navigate the login area by using the “User Menu”. This will appear on every page, with the exception of shopfronts. You can click on the “My HQ” button in the header to return to your “My HQ” page from any other page. The user menu contains 5 pages:
- My HQ
- My Messages
- My Shopfronts
- My Purchases
- My Settings
- You can log out at any time by clicking the “Log Out” link in the User Menu or the header.
My HQ - My HQ is your personal homepage on Shopfront. You will receive alerts on this page when something needs your attention.
- When you click on an alert, you will be taken to the relevant page for that alert.
- Find shopfronts that you like and add them to your Favorites for fast access. There is an “add to Favorites” link on every shopfront. Don’t forget to add your friends’ shopfronts! You can find your friends that use shopfront.com on the “Find Shopfront.com Users” page. If you really like a shopfront, support it by telling your friends about it!
- You can upload a photo or choose one of our amazing cartoon images by clicking “Edit Photo”
My Messages - This is your message center. You can read your messages and send messages to other shopfront.com users. Find your friends, comment on their shopfronts, discuss business, ask questions and be mentored. Do joint ventures and start building a great business network!
- Respond to messages from customers as fast as possible and build a reputation of speed and reliability!
My Purchases - This page displays a list of all orders that you have placed through shopfront.com. Clicking on an order in the list will open the “Order Details” page.
- The “Order Details” page shows all information regarding the order, as well as the order’s status. You can change this status at any time. All status changes are logged in the “Order Actions” section of the page.
- You can send a message to the shopfront owner by clicking the “Message This Shopfront” link.
My Settings - Update your personal information and account settings here.
My Shopfronts - You create and manage your shopfronts in this area. You are shown a list of your shopfronts. Click on a shopfront to manage it. Shopfronts are free to start, and you can create as many as you need.
- For information on starting a business in your area, visit the Business Help Center in the Shopfront.com Community. Think of your skills, talents, passions and ideas, and convert them into businesses! Try to carve out a great niche for your shopfront.
Creating a Shopfront - Shopfront is intended for new and growing businesses. This means that shopfronts can be started by businesses (or organizations, bands etc) that do not yet exist, have not existed for long, or are small by nature. Shopfront is for building businesses- it is not "another place to adavertise" an established business. If you own an established business, click here to find out how to get the most out of Shopfront.
- If you are thinking of starting a business, have a look at Slingshot. It is a business startup guide that has been designed to help you turn your business idea into a next-level business that is always being improved.
- We want Shopfront to be a community of businesses that are remarkable, meaning businesses that are "worth remarking on". Break the rules, surprise people, impress people with your service and be a little bit crazy in general. Stand out and your business is far more likely to be outstanding. "Be interesting or be invisible."
- Before you create a shopfront, have a look at the What to Bring page. It lists the things that you'll need to start an impressive shopfront.
- To create a new shopfront, click “Create a New Shopfront” on the My Shopfronts page. You will be taken through the following steps:
- Choose a Name: choose the name that best reflects your business. You cannot change this name later. Check if the name is already taken using the “availability checker”.
- Choose a URL: This is the web address for your shopfront. Keep it short and simple! Tell people your shopfront's web address so they can check out your shopfront. You can also put your shopfront's web address on your promotional material.
- Upload your logo: choose your logo or a photo that you have the right to use. Try to use an image that is at least 250x250 pixels and no bigger than 1MB.
- Your Business Details: Enter the contact details for your business, and choose whether or not you want them displayed on your shopfront. You choose which information to enter- all fields are optional.
- Your business’s primary location: Enter the address of your business. You do not have to display the street address or phone number of your business on your shopfront. This is optional.
- Tell Us About Your Business: Enter an honest, interesting description of your business! This description will be shown on your shopfront.
- Select a Color Scheme: Choose a color scheme for your shopfront.
- Enter shipping costs: How much will you charge for shipping?
- Set-up Payments: Which payment methods will you accept? If you accept Paypal, people can pay you by credit card. For more information on Paypal, click here.
- When you have completed all of these steps, you will have to add an item to your shopfront. Without an item, your shopfront will not appear in the Shopfront.com search engine. See the “New Item” section for instructions on creating an item.
- Shopfront.com is not about hawking stuff to friends or SPAM of any kind. At Shopfront we are against the idea of harassing friends for a sale, online and off. Do you like it when your friends try to sell you stuff that you don't want? Nothing sours a conversation faster! We encourage shopfront owners to let their friends know about their business once, then spend their energy on building a remarkable business that will spread by itself, not sending interruptions like SPAM.
- Make sure that your business is compliant with the law.
- For information on marketing your business, see the Marketing page.
Control Panel - The control panel is the management center of a shopfront. It consists of the following sections:
- Alerts- displays a list of alerts for the shopfront. Clicking on an alert takes you to the relevant page for that alert.
- “View This Shopfront” button- click this button to open your shopfront in a new window
- Control Panel Icons- everything you need to manage your shopfront!
- When you click on a link in your Control Panel, you can click “Back to Control Panel” at the top right of the page to return to the Control Panel.
Messages - This links to your “My Messages” page. All messages sent to your shopfront go to "My Messages"
Current Orders
- This page displays all of the shopfront’s current (incomplete) orders. Clicking on an order in the list will open the “Order Details” page.
- The “Order Details” page shows all information regarding the order, as well as the order’s status. You can change this status at any time. All status changes are logged in the “Order Actions” section of the page.
- You can send a message to the customer by clicking the “Message This User” link.
- When an order is marked as “completed” or “cancelled”, it will be moved to the “Order History” page in the control panel. To move it back, simply change it’s status in the “Order History” page.
- Deal with your orders and service requests as quickly and professionally as possible, and start building a great reputation! Keep the “status” of your orders up to date so that your customers can accurately track their orders.
Order History - This page displays all of your completed and cancelled orders.
New Item - It is free to create items in your shopfront. To create a new item, click “New Item” in the control panel or “Create a new item” in the “Manage Items” page. You will have to complete the following steps:
- Item type: select whether the item is a product, a service or an event. The main difference between a product and a service is that a product is generally paid for BEFORE it is shipped, and a service is generally paid for AFTER it has been completed. You must enter a price for a product, but entering a price for services is optional. IF you do not want to display a proce for a service listing, "we quote upon request" will be displayed on your items.
- Basic Information: Enter the name of this item, a description of the item, a price (optional for service listings) and the item’s category and a photo of the item.
- Shipping details (for products and events only): enter the dimensions for your itemif you plan on using the Australia Post shipping calculator to calculate shipping.
- After you have entered this information, you can add more details about your item. Click “Save” to save your settings:
- New Product:
- Item details: allows you to edit the basic information you entered earlier
- Pricing, Options & Extras: Enter the base price of the item (price before any extras are added). Also enter what is being received e.g. per item, per litre, per set of 100, per pencil, per fish etc (this is optional). You can add options and extras here. “Options” refer to choices that must be made in checkout e.g. color, size. “Extras” refer to optional extras that can be purchased e.g. waterproofed, gift wrapped, extra-stinky.
- Shipping & Delivery: Add the dimensions of the product if you are using the Australia Post shipping calculator to calculate a buyer's shipping rates (you chose how to calculate shipping costs when you created your shopfront)
- Availability: Decide whether or not you want to track your inventory (the quantity of the product that you have in stock). If you do, specify what happens when you run out of this product.
- Related Media: Provide links to relevant audio and videos in your gallery. If you are creating your shopfront, you will not have any videos or audio in your gallery yet. You can come back to this section later, once you have added media to your shopfront's gallery.
- New Service:
- Item details: allows you to edit the basic information you entered earlier
- Pricing, Options & Extras: Decide whether or not you will display pricing for this service. If so, enter the base price of the service (price before any extras are added). Also enter what is being received e.g. per hour, per day, per dogwash, per visit, per massage, etc. You can also add extras here. “Extras” refer to optional extras that can be purchased e.g. service performed on a weekend, use of bobcat, speakers supplied.
- Shipping & Delivery: Decide whether or not you will travel to complete the service. If so, provide details.
- Availability: Enter your operating hours or available times. This is optional.
- Related Media: Provide links to relevant audio and videos in your gallery. If you are creating your shopfront, you will not have any videos or audio in your gallery yet. You can come back to this section later, once you have added media to your shopfront's gallery.
- New Event:
- Item details: allows you to edit the basic information you entered earlier.
- Pricing, Options & Extras: Enter the base price of the event (price before any extras are added). Also enter what is being received e.g. per ticket, per table of 5 etc. You can add options and extras here. “Options” refer to choices that must be made in checkout e.g. seating level, date of show, location. “Extras” refer to optional extras that can be purchased e.g. dinner and drinks, after-party admission, meet Bono.
- Shipping & Delivery: Add the dimensions of any delivered items e.g. ticket or programme if you use the Australia Post calculator to calculate a buyer's shipping costs.
- Availability: Decide if you want to track your inventory (the quantity of tickets/seats etc that you have in stock). If so, specify what happens when you run out of stock.
- Related Media: Provide links to relevant audio and videos in your gallery. If you are creating your shopfront, you will not have any videos or audio in your gallery yet. You can come back to this section later, once you have added media to your shopfront's gallery.
- Be innovative with your products, services and events! Set yourself apart from the rest.
- For interesting information on creating awesome products and services, see Slingshot.
- Ensure that the items you sell are compliant with the law.
- There are some items that you cannot sell on Shopfront. Click here to view the list.
Manage Items - This page displays a list of your items. You can edit items, delete items and create new items.
Shipping - Choose a method of calculating shipping costs. If your product will not be shipped, just click "I don't need to calculate shipping". The Australia Post shipping calculator will only work for orders placed inside australia. We will be adding more shipping calculators in future.
Setup Payments - Edit your accepted payment methods. You can use any legal payment method that you want if you choose to accept "Cash, cheque, bank deposit, COD or other". If you choose to accept Paypal, buyers can pay by credit card in checkout. For more information on Paypal, click here.
Appearance - Change your shopfront’s color scheme here. We will be allowing more customization down the track, but until then you can deck your shopfront out in one of our bad-to-mediocre color schemes!
Settings - Publish Your shop: This allows you to turn your shopfront on and off. When the shopfront is published, it will appear on the site. If it is not published, only you will be able to view it
- On this page you can edit the business information that you entered when creating the shopfront.
Reviews - This page shows all of the reviews that your shopfront has received. If you disable a review, only you will be able to see it.
- When a customer buys from you, they can leave you a review. Don’t be afraid to show reviews that offer constructive criticism. It’s a good way to earn trust from potential customers.
Gallery - This page displays all of the media items in your gallery. If you disable an item, only you will be able to see it.
- You are able to upload images and audio files (songs, jingles, podcasts etc), but you must embed videos from YouTube. Simply copy the video code found at the end of the video's URL and paste it into the Gallery as instructed.
 - Show people the life behind your business! Use photos, videos and audio to paint an interesting picture of your business. Visually (and audibly) explain what you do and why you do it well! Don’t be afraid to show your business’s roots e.g. who you are and why you started this business.
Blog - This page displays all blog articles written for this shopfront. If you disable a blog article, only you will be able to see it.
- Use this blog to keep people updated! Don’t limit your entries to specific information about your business- break your news, but also explain anything interesting that is on your mind! Be honest. Describe your experiences with other great people and businesses. Link to other shopfronts and user profiles that you like. Respond to blogs that talk about you. Provide in-depth information for your loyal customers and supporters.
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