This document provides you with a basic overview of the LightSpeed Web Store, and includes summarized chronological steps on installation and configuration of an essential setup procedure. It is meant as the primary document to a Web Store setup, and a complementary resource to the Web Store articles, where detailed explanations of configuration of specific settings, such as shipping carriers, can be found.
A Note About Shipping
Like LightSpeed, Web Store charges shipping via a non-inventoried Product. Even though this shipping "Product" does not appear when the shopper is submitting their Web Order online, any shipping charges applied to the Web Order will be added once the Web Order is downloaded into LightSpeed. As explained below, each Shipping Method enabled in the Web Store must be associated with a non-inventoried Product created in LightSpeed to represent shipping/freight.
Configuration of the Web Store is centralized to the Web Store Setup panel in LightSpeed (Tools > Web Store > Setup), which is where you will enter your web host info, and access the various configuration windows you’ll need for setup. Again, this guide outlines a summary of the requirements for a basic Web Store configuration in chronological order. For more information, please see the various articles on each step of the Web Store process, including the Web Store Installation article.
Within LightSpeed, you must enter the basic host information in the Web Store setup panel (Tools > Web Store > Setup). Enter the URL of your web host’s store location, and password. If you are hosted with Xsilva, you will receive this information from Xsilva Support. If you are hosting with a third party, they will provide you with this information.
Before you can complete a Web Store setup, you should confirm the following LightSpeed settings and make sure they have been properly configured. For information on how to configure these settings, please consult the LightSpeed Getting Started Guide, except where otherwise specified.
Tax Code - The Tax Code(s) you set up in LightSpeed applies a particular combination of tax rates that you configure for different sales situations. The default Tax Code is the setting that is automatically applied to new documents, per sales station, and can be changed to any other Tax Codes you have added. These Tax Codes will be uploaded to the Web Store you can assign them to specific destinations, allowing them to automatically be applied to your Web Orders based on the shipping address.
Default Currency - You must first define your default currency prior to updating the Web Store.
Size-Color Matrix settings - Any Product you wish your shoppers to be able to choose using the pop-up menus for size and color must first be created using the Size-Color Matrix feature in LightSpeed.
Families - This setting is only required if you want Families to be included with your Web Categories, the system of nested classification that allows your shoppers to drill down to the category of Product they’re looking for.
Before you can configure the Web Store, you must update the Web Store to register the settings described above. No Products or Documents will be added, but information regarding Tax Codes, Currency, and more will be communicated to the web host and become accessible in the Web Store Admin panel for the configurations described below. Go to (Tools > Web Store > Setup), and click Update Store.
The Web Store Admin panel is a web-based interface accessed within LightSpeed that allows you to configure how your Web Store looks and behaves, including localized requirements, shipping and payment methods, and more. Outlined below are brief summaries of the essential configuration of the Web Store, and how to perform each one. Further information can be found in the Web Store articles linked within each step.
1. Set Your Store and Localization Information (link)
Tools > Web Store > Admin Panel > Configuration > Store
Store Name - the name that appears at the top of each screen the customer browses in your Web Store
Store Phone - the primary contact telephone number for your retail location, displayed in the email footer
Store Email - the email address that appears in the Contact Us section of your web store, and from which address emails are sent
Default Language - the language you wish your web store to appear in. The default is English. However, it is possible to customize your store to operate in other languages using external solutions.
Locale - sets the location and language for the Web Store. For example, an English store in England would require “en_GB” (minus quotations) to be entered. Common locales would include:
en_CA - Canada
en_US - United States
en_AU - Australia
en_GB - United Kingdom
Default Country - the country where the order will be fulfilled from. This setting is used in the shipping calculations.
Date Format - the date format as it will appear on correspondence with the customer
Web Store Time Zone - the international time zone from which the order will be fulfilled (contact Xsilva if this is different than your store’s time zone)
Tax-Inclusive Pricing - enabling this displays your web prices with the default Tax Code already applied. This setting should only be applied if you are using tax-inclusive pricing within LightSpeed.
Default Currency - this sets the currency your prices appear in, and should reflect the Default Currency in LightSpeed.
Currency Printing Format - sets the formatting for your currency, the %n default is pre-populated and will work in almost all situations.
Browser Encoding - sets what special characters can be seen in your web store, dependant on language (normal setting is UTF-8)
Next Order ID - sets the next Web Orer ID number, in a similar fashion to the way ID numbers work in LightSpeed.
2. Add a Header Image to Brand Your Store
Tools > Web Store > Admin Panel > Configuration > Appearance
Header Image - add a header image to your Web Store by uploading the image to your web host, and then outlining the path where the image can be found as being either on your web host or with a full URL for the image online. The maximum dimensions of this image are 748 pixels wide by 111 pixels high. If you are hosting with Xsilva, you can send your header image to support@xsilva.com.
3. Set Your Customer Preferences
Tools > Web Store > Admin Panel > Configuration > Store
Allow Guest Checkout - enables the ability for non-registered customers to process orders
Minimum Password Length - sets the minimum number of characters required for the customer log-in password
Phone Types - enter the options possible for customer telephone numbers, separated by commas and no spaces, including “work”, “home”, “mobile”, etc. These choices will appear in a pop-up menu when the shopper is registering.
4. Set Your Product Preferences
Tools > Web Store > Admin Panel > Configuration > Appearance
Product Color Label - the term used to indicate the product’s color
Product Size Label - the term used to indicate the product’s size
Products Per Page - sets the default number of products that appear per page on the web store
Product Sorting - sets the default sort mode for your products as they appear on your Web Store, including Product Name, Product Code, Price, or Inventory
Enable Families - enables the inclusion of LightSpeed Families in the list of Web Categories in the Web Store
5. Set Your Product Image Preferences
Tools > Web Store > Admin Panel > Configuration > Appearance
Show Lightbox in Product Detail Page - enabling this feature opens a preview version of the primary image in its own window when the primary image is clicked
Image Store Location - allows you to indicate where the images are stored for your products, whether it’s in the database or in a separate file system on the web server.
6. Set Your Inventory Preferences
Tools > Web Store > Admin Panel > Configuration > Appearance
Display Inventory - enabled, this feature shows your customers basic information about the inventory levels of your products
Display Inventory Level - enabled, this feature will display a general message (defined below) regarding your inventory levels, whether a product is available, not available, low, or not stocked. If this feature is disabled, but Display Inventory is enabled, the quantity of your available stock as of the last store update will be displayed.
Use Total Inventory Count - enables the display of Total inventory quantities, not just Available Inventory quantities, including quantities Reserved and in Warehouses.
Zero or Negative Inventory Message - the message that is displayed when a product has no inventory, or is in negative quantities
Available Inventory Message - the message that is displayed when there is available inventory with a quantity more than the Low Inventory Threshold defined below
Low Inventory Message - the message that is displayed when a product has “low” inventory as definied by the Low Inventory Threshold below
Low Inventory Threshold - the point at which the Low Inventory Message is displayed. Does not affect Reorder Point in LightSpeed.
Non Stocked Item Display Message - enables the indication of Products that are attributed as “non-inventoried” in LightSpeed, such as “Labor”
Allow Out-of-Stock Products To Be Added to Cart - allows Products that have no quantities to be added to the Cart and purchased
7. Set Your Payment Methods (link)
Tools > Web Store > Admin Panel > Payment Methods
Each Payment Method in the Web Store must be linked to an existing Payment Method in LightSpeed. For example, if you have enabled "Purchase Order" as a payment method in Web Store, you must enter "Purchase Order" in the LightSpeed Payment Method field of the Admin panel (provided this is what it is called in LightSpeed). This text match must be exact and is case-sensitive.
Credit card payment methods require an account to be set up with the appropriate provider - Authorize.net, WorldPay, Beanstream, eWay, and/or PayPal. When setting up an Authorize.net account, you must specify that it needs to be a Retail Card-Not-Present account. Payment gateways on the Web Store can each be linked to their own Payment Method within LightSpeed, or all to a more general "Credit Card" Payment Method. Only those gateways with whom you arrange an account need to be configured in the Web Store. Please see the Web Store 2.0 document for more information on setting up gateway accounts.
In the Credit Card Types tab, you are able to restrict which types of credits cards with which the customer can pay, and the order in which they appear.
Authorize.net Simple Integration - this payment method directs shoppers to the Authorize.net set to process their encrypted, online payment, and then returns them back to the LightSpeed Web Store when completed.
Authorize.net Complex Integration - this payment method allows the shopper to remain in the LightSpeed Web Store while they process their encrypted Authorize.net payment.
WorldPay - adds "WorldPay" as a choice of payment on the payment screen, sending the shopper to the WorldPay site to process their encrypted payment, and returning them to the LightSpeed Web Store when completed
PayPal - adds "PayPal" as a choice of payment on the payment screen, sending the shopper to the PayPal site to process their encrypted payment, and returning them to the LightSpeed Web Store when completed.
Purchase Order - allows your shopper to enter a PO number as their payment when checking out. No credit card information is required.
Phone Order - allows you to indicate a telephone number your customer can call with their credit card for processing payment. No credit card information is required.
Cheque - allows your shopper to enter a cheque number as their payment when checking out, as well as you to tell your customer to what address to send the cheque. No credit card information is required.
Cash on Delivery - allows your shopper to check out without any payment information. No credit card information is required.
Beanstream - allows Canadian or American merchants to accept credit card payments from shoppers. This payment method allows the shopper to remain in the LightSpeed Web Store while they process their encrypted Beanstream payment.
eWay - allows Australian shoppers to accept credit card payments from shoppers. This payment method allows the shopper to remain in the LightSpeed Web Store while they process their encrypted eWay payment.
8. Set Your Shipping Preferences (link)
Tools > Web Store > Admin Panel > Shipping
Restricted Shipping - allows you to restrict the available choices for shipping destinations. For example, if you are in Utah, and you will only ever ship to customers in Utah, you can enable Restricted Shipping, and then only define destinations based in Utah as outlined in step 10 below.
Weight Unit - sets Pound or Kilogram as the unit of weight measurement
Dimension Unit - sets Inch or Centimeter as the unit of dimension measurement
9. Set Your Shipping Methods
Tools > Web Store > Admin Panel > Shipping > Methods
The Web Store uses a shipping calculator to calculate shipping charges based on the destination of the Web Order. Charges are applied the same way they are in LightSpeed, by creating a "shipping" Product that is used to calculate based on weight, volume, or item count. While they will be informed of the shipping charge upon checkout, the shopper will not see this Shipping Product until they are sent a copy of the LightSpeed Invoice.
Each shipping method must be linked to a specific Product set up in LightSpeed to charge shipping, using the LightSpeed Product Code field in each method's settings of the Admin panel. Most shipping methods allow for a price markup or a handling fee to be added to any shipping charges.
UPS, FedEx, Australia Post, Canada Post, US Postal Service, IUPS, InterShipper - allows you to enable and configure each carrier and the account information that you have received from the carrier
Store Pickup - allows your customer to arrange to pick up their order in-store, and allows you to decide which instruction message is displayed when they choose this method
Flat Rate Shipping - sets a flat rate based on item quantity, order weight, or a flat rate for the order itself
Destination Shipping - allows you to set shipping charges based on the destination of the Web Order, calculated by item count, weight, or volume
10. Set Your Shipping Destinations and Taxes
Tools > Web Store > Admin Panel > Shipping > Countries, Destinations
Defining destinations in the Web Store is important for two reasons; shipping charge calculations, and tax calculations.
Countries, States, and Regions
LightSpeed Web Store comes pre-populated with all the world's countries, accessible in the Countries tab of the Admin panel's Shipping section. The default setting is for all countries to appear in the pop-up menu that is displayed when a customer is registering their account. Any countries that you do not want to appear in this list can be omitted by clicking the "gear" icon and selecting "No" from the pop menu in the Available? column.
The States/Regions tab comes pre-populated with the states/provinces/regions of the US, Canada, the UK, France, Germany, and Australia. When any of these countries are chosen in the shopper's registration, its list of sub-regions will auto-populate. To add to these lists, click the + Add icon at the bottom of the window, choose the country from the pop-up menu, and provide the name and code of the sub-region you're defining. Click the "checkmark" icon to save your addition.
Destinations & Taxes
The Web Store allows you to assign the Tax Codes you've configured in LightSpeed to the destinations you define in the Web Store Admin panel. When shoppers choose a particular destination as their ship-to address, the Web Store will apply the appropriate Tax Code as it has been assigned here.
Using the Restricted Shipping feature accessible in the Shipping tab, you can limit your customers to choosing from a list of pre-defined shipping destinations that you define here. If Restricted Shipping is not enabled, the customer can enter any address as the ship-to when they place an order, but if this address does not match a configured destination, no Tax Code will be applied to the Web Order.
- In the Destinations tab of the Shipping section, click the + Add icon at the bottom left to add a destination to the list.
- Choose the country and province/state/region for the destination you're defining.
- Set the range of postal or zip codes for which this destination and its Tax Codes will apply. If none are set, the Web Store will apply the assigned Tax Code to all orders that are set to ship to this destination, regardless of zip/postal code.
- Name the Tax label for this tax setup (reference purposes only)
- Assign a Tax Code to the destination using the pop-up menu. These Tax Codes reflect the Tax Codes that were defined in LightSpeed as of the most recent store update.
In the case the you are NOT using any of the pre-configured shipping services (eg. UPS, FedEx, etc), you can do a manual calculation of the shipping charges using Base Charge, Free Allowance, and Rate Unit. The Base Charge allows you to enter the base amount that is applied to all web orders. Free Allowance allows you to enter a certain number of units (based on what you've configured in Shipping > Methods > Flat Rate Shipping) that are not used to calculate charges. Per Rate Unit is the dollar amount to use to charge per unit (weight, volume, order) after the Free Allowance.
11. Set Your Pages Preferences (link)
Tools > Web Store > Admin Panel > Pages
All "pages" in your Web Store - New Products, Promotions, Top Products, About Us, Contact Us, Privacy Policy, Terms and Conditions - provide you an opportunity to promote or highlight specific Products that will be showcased in a "slider" that displays four Products at once and can be "advanced' for the next set of four, and so on. Each of these "pages" in your Web Store also provide you an opportunity to communicate with your shoppers, giving them background and contact information, as well as details particular to your business policies.
Page Key - the text that appears in the URL to identify this page
Page Title - the title that appears at the top of the Browser window
Text - the text that appears on this page
Slideshow Product Tag - Web Keywords that have been assigned to the Products you wish to showcase in this page's slider. Example: If you enter "shoe" as the Slideshow Product Tag, all Products with "shoe" as a Web Keyword will appear in this page's slider. Multiple Product Tags can be set.
Meta Keywords - words that internet search engines use to find this page
Meta Descriptions - the description that appears for the page when an internet search engine produces a list of results
12. Set Your Administration Preferences (link)
Tools > Web Store > Admin Panel > System > Configuration
Database Backup Folder
In the System Configuration section, you must indicate the web host folder where you will back up your database.
Confirmation Email
In the Email section, enter the info to define the settings for the email confirmation that your customer receives once they have placed an order.
Order From - the email address that will appear in the "from" section of the confirmation email the customer receives
BCC Address - the email address that will receive a BCC copy of the order confirmation
Email Signature - the signature that appears at the bottom of every order confirmation email
SMTP Server Info - the server, server port, username, and password information for your SMTP email server
E. Define your Web Categories and Keywords (link)
Tools > Web Store > Web Categories, Web Keywords
Web Categories
Web Categories set a system of organization you will use to create a directory that your shoppers will use to drill down to find the Product they need. There are 3 levels to Web Categories - Primary, Secondary, and Tertiary. Each Primary category may have a number of Secondary categories, which, in turn, may have a number of Tertiary Categories. For example, you may have a Primary category called “Shoes”, then within that a Secondary category called “Sneakers”, then within that a Tertiary category called “Nike”.
To create a new Primary category, click the + icon under the Primary Category column, enter its name, and click Save. To create a Secondary category within that Primary category, click the Primary category once to select it, and click the + icon under the Secondary Category column. Name the Secondary category, and click Save. To create a Tertiary category within that Secondary category, click the Secondary category once to select it, and click the + icon under the Tertiary Category column. Name the Tertiary category, and click Save. These categories will now be accessible in the Web tab of the Product card.
The order of your categories can be changed by clicking and dragging them within your lists. It is in this order that they will appear on your Web Store.
Web Keywords
You are able to assign up to 3 Web Keywords to each Product sold on the Web Store to assist your shoppers in finding the Product they need using a Search. If your shopper searches on any term assigned to a Product as a keyword, the Product will appear in the list of results. For example, if you have “tshirt” assigned as one of a Product’s Web Store Keywords, that Product will appear when the shopper searches for “tshirt”, even if “tshirt” isn’t in the Product’s description. However, ANY Product that has tshirt in the description will also appear in the same search, even if they do not have “tshirt” set as a keyword.
To create a new Web Keyword, click the New button at the bottom of the Web Keywords window. Add the keyword in the pop-out drawer and click Save. This keyword will now be accessible in the Web tab of the Product card.
LightSpeed Product Card > Web Tab (link)
Having configured both LightSpeed and the Web Store Admin panel, you must select which Products you wish to sell on the Web Store, and assign them with Web Categories and Web Keywords, giving shoppers two ways to locate the Products on your Web Store.
A special Web Price and Web Description can be set that will override the regular Selling Price and Product Description. The weight and dimension fields allow you to enter values that are used in the shipping calculator of the Web Store.
Each Product can have up to 5 images stored in the image drawer, and all 5 of these images will be displayed and accessible in the Product detail page of the Web Store. To add multiple images, click Photo in the Product card to open the image drawer, and select the square where you wish to store the image. Drag the image from your desktop or a website and drop it into the primary square in the image drawer.
Size-color combination Products in LightSpeed are brought together under a common style using the Size-Color Matrix. Uploading Matrix and Child Products to the Web Store allows shoppers to choose their size-color combination using 2 pop-up menus that allow them to select their desired Product.
Any items that are assigned to a Product as Related Products and are uploaded to the Web Store appear in an animated slider that showcases these Products in a polished, easy-to-access way.
You can use Set Product Info to set in a batch which Products you wish to sell on your Web Store, and Set Selling Prices to set in a batch the Web Price for these Products. For more information, see the Product Rules article.
Tools> Web Store > Documents (link)
With the Products you wish to sell on the Web Store enabled and configured, you must upload them to your Web Store, along with any documents you wish to use to enable particular Web Store features.
Quotes - enables the Quote to Cart feature, allowing you to email Quotes from LightSpeed to customers along with a link that will take them to a pre-populated Web Store cart.
Orders - enables your shoppers to look up outstanding LightSpeed Orders online.
SROs - enables your shoppers to look up outstanding Service Repair orders online.
Click Update Store to upload any new or modified Products, as well as any documents you have indicated in the Documents tab. The first time you update your Web Store with Products and Documents, it will require a considerable amount of time to complete the upload, depending, of course, on the number of items being uploaded. However, the initial update of basic settings, as outlined in step 2c, will not take long.
ONCE YOU GO LIVE - Once you are live with your Web Store, but before you download and receive any Web Orders, go to Admin Panel > Appearance > Products, and enable “Cache Categories”.
Having found your Web Store using a search engine, customers can browse or search Products, add them to the cart, and even check out as a guest. If they register for an account, or log into an existing account, they are able to access their purchase history, create Wish Lists, look up oustanding LightSpeed Orders or Service Repair Orders, or purchase through their customer account.
The major features available on the Web Store are as follows:
Drag and Drop Purchasing - for quick, intuitive shopping
Product Availability
Product Slider - for showcasing products with an innovative interface
Feature Products - for spotlighting specific products for higher sales
Professionally-designed Templates
Cross-Selling - for suggested selling of related products
Quote-to-Cart - allows the merchant to email a Quote link from LightSpeed that takes the shopper to a pre-populated cart of those Products
Wish List - for later purchase, or for a gift registry
Customer Log-In - for sales history, Wish Lists, Order Lookups
Real-Time Shipping and Tax Calculators
HTML Email Notification - for stylized emails after purchase
Search Engine Optimization - for high-priority search engine results
Order/SRO Lookups - for direct customer convenience
Security Control - for safe, worry-free online credit card purchasing
When shoppers check out, taxes will be calculated based on their shipping address as you have defined in the Destinations tab of the Web Store Admin panel. They choose a Shipping Method, including any of the compatible carriers that you have enabled in the Web Store Admin panel. Specific shipping options, such as overnight or priority, are available in a separate pop-up menu for most carriers. Once a method is selected, a shipping charge is calculated and added to the Order.
The next step is for the shopper to choose a Payment Method. If the Customer is paying by credit card, and selects Authorize.net Simple Integration, PayPal, or WorldPay, they will be redirected to that gateways’ web site to process their payment, and will be returned to the checkout area of your Web Store once it’s processed. If a Customer is paying by credit card and chooses Authorize.net Complex Integration, eWay, or Beanstream, they can process their encrypted payment without being redirected. In all cases, the authorization number of the transaction will be attached to the Web Order and downloaded into LightSpeed. If the shopper is going to pay using alternate means, such as Phone Order, Purchase Order, Cheque, or Cash on Delivery, the Web Store can notify your shopper of instructions or allow them to record specific information such as PO number.
Once the shopper has entered their payment information, they must also enter a verification code of random letters and numbers generated and shown in an image, simply to verify that they are human, as opposed to a spam bot or other piece of spyware. If the shopper is paying by any credit card gateway that requires them to be directed to another site for payment, they must enter this verification code prior to being redirected.
In the Web Store Setup panel Tools > Web Store > Setup, you have the option to either manually download the Web Orders that your shoppers have placed, or set them to automatically download at scheduled intervals, as frequently as once every 10 minutes. If Download Schedule is set to “Manually”, no Web Orders will be downloaded into LightSpeed until you click the Download Orders button. Otherwise, LightSpeed will download Web Orders from the Web Store automatically.
a. Install the Web Order Tracker.
To be notifed of new Web Orders, install the Web Orders (Requested) Tracker. When you download new Web Orders, they will appear here.
b. Download Web Orders
c. Convert each Web Order into an Invoice.
As per the standard workflow of LightSpeed, convert your Web Orders to Invoices using the Invoice button at the bottom of the Order. Confirm which Products you will be sending to the Customer, and make any necessary edits prior to saving the Invoice. Save the Invoice.
If the Customer had processed an online credit card payment for their Web Order, the Apply Credit button on the Payment layout of the Invoice will be accessible. Click it to access the credit created by the online payment, and apply it to the Invoice. If you need to bring in Products from your Suppliers to fulfill a Web Order, follow the standard ordering procedure outlined in the Ordering and Purchasing PDF document on the Training page of www.xsilva.com. For more information regarding the application of credits, please see the Getting Started section
