Overview

Essential Points

• The Web Store integrates with LightSpeed for a sales solution that satisfies both a traditional store and an online web cart from the same source. 
• The Web Store operates from a web hosted MySQL database that communicates with LightSpeed via SOAP.
• Products are selected from LightSpeed to be uploaded to the Web Store, and shopper Web Orders are downloaded into LightSpeed and manually converted into Invoices.
• Xsilva offers hosting services for your Web Store, or you can select your own host. Xsilva does not host your primary website or email. 
• The Web Store offers encrypted credit card processing for secure and stable transactions. 
• Tax and shipping charges are applied based on the shipping destination of Web Orders. 
• Shoppers find products on your Web Store based on keyword search, or by drilling down through nested categories.
• Shoppers on the Web Store can check out as a guest, or create a registered account that allows them to track their purchase history, access backorder lookup features, wish lists, and more. 
• The Web Store may be customized in terms of design or functionality.
• LightSpeed can connect to Magento.  More information can be found here and here. 

Compatibility 

Web Store 2.1 and later requires LightSpeed 3.5 for full functionality. LightSpeed 3.5 has been tested with Magento 1.4.2 and 1.5 Community Edition. 

Introduction

LightSpeed’s Web Store is a flexible, intuitive way to sell your Products online, integrating your existing LightSpeed database with a full-featured, polished web store. It features a dynamic MySQL database that resides on the web host, communicating with your LightSpeed server with even tighter security, and allows for greater flexibility in updating your database and your Web Store. 

LightSpeed always initiates the communication, with either the "Update Store" (to push Products to the Web Store) or "Download Orders" (to download shopper Web Orders) functions. Each process can be executed manually, or set to a schedule. 

Overview

Technology

Web Store’s installation results in a MySQL database on the web host, which communicates with your LightSpeed server via Simple Object Access Protocol (SOAP) - a simple, XML-based protocol that lets applications exchange information over HTTP. It is designed to maximize compatibility among various browsers, and, more importantly, the security of information exchanged between servers. Once the web host's URL and password has been entered in the Web Store Setup panel, communication is established. 

Features

• Security Control - for safe, worry-free online credit card purchasing
• 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
• 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
• Drag and Drop Purchasing - for quick, intuitive shopping
• Product Availability 
• Order/SRO Lookups - for direct customer convenience
• 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

Taxes

Web Store automatically applies the correct LightSpeed Tax Code to web orders, based on the Tax Codes you have assigned to your list of pre-defined destinations, according to zip/postal code, state/province, or country. 

Shipping

Web Store has several shipping calculators based on the shipping method chosen by the customer at the time of the web order. These calculators use the weight, volume, or quantity of the Products on the web order. Shipping can also be restricted to particular zip/postal codes, state/provinces, or countries. As in LightSpeed, shipping charges are applied to Web Orders and Invoices as a Product. 

Customer Info

New customers that are registered and/or order in Web Store will be created into LightSpeed when the Download Orders happens. If the customer email already exists in LightSpeed, then a new customer will not be created. If the email address cannot be found, then a new customer card is created. If the customer exists in LightSpeed but the email address is not in the card, a new card will be created, but the store owner has the ability to merge these two cards together in LightSpeed since they are the same customer.

Security

Credit card payment transactions in Web Store are conducted online with authorized, encrypted payment gateways such as Authorize.net. No credit card information is sent to or stored in LightSpeed, making it absolutely secure for online payments. 

Hosting

Because of the vast number of web hosting companies selling their services, and the multitude of variables that can influence the Web Store’s performance over which we have no control, Xsilva offers a hosting solution for Web Store in order to provide the highest level of service and support possible. In this way, any enhancements or modifications that are made can be implemented without any difficulty or incompatibility being experienced by merchants or customers using Web Store. 

Templates and Customization

Web Store ships with three pre-defined templates, each with varying complexity, designed to provide online customers with a polished, intuitive, innovative buying experience that is also customizable by the merchant.  

The Basic Workflow

The basic workflow of installing, configuring, and using the LightSpeed Web Store can be outlined as follows:

1. INSTALL WEB STORE (link)

a. Hosting with Xsilva

b. Hosting with a Third Party

2. CONFIGURE WEB STORE

a. Enter Host and Setup information (link)

b. Confirm initial LightSpeed settings

c. Update Store to register initial settings (link)

d. Configure Web Admin Panel

1. Set Store and Localization Info (link)

2. Add a Header Image

3. Set Customer Preferences

4. Set Product Preferences

5. Set Product Image Preferences

6. Set Inventory Preferences

7. Set Payment Method Preferences (link)

8. Set Shipping Preferences (link)

9. Set Shipping Method Preferences

10. Set Shipping Destinations and Taxes

11. Set Pages Preferences (link)

12. Set Administation Preferences (link)

e. Define Web Categories and Keywords (link)

3. CHOOSE THE PRODUCTS TO SELL ONLINE (link)

4. UPLOAD TO WEB STORE (link)

5. YOUR CUSTOMERS PLACE ORDERS (link)

6. DOWNLOAD AND FULFILL WEB ORDERS (link)