ShopSite 11 – Insider Tips, Tricks, and Gotchas
ShopSite’s latest release, version 11, has been available since June 1st. Over the past 6 weeks, we’ve learned a lot about v11. I thought I’d share a few of the things we’ve discovered…
New Back Office Login System
Version 11 offers a new login method that allows multiple users, defined roles, and improved logging. However, you do *NOT* want to enable the new login system if you use a third party service that downloads data from your store. This includes services such as Ordoro, Stone Edge, GoDataFeed, MOM, Quickbooks Order Transfer, ShipWorks, etc…
Once these services start supporting the new login system in v11, then it would be safe to make the switch. If you do switch to the new login system, make sure you check the checkbox to remove the old login system, or else you’ll have to log in twice.
If you are using the new login system, it’s important to set up a login for *each* user in the backoffice. If you don’t, and multiple people are using the same login, you will continually be logged out each time someone else logs in with the same username.
If you’d like to allow your web browser to remember your username/password (for easier logins), there is a checkbox to turn this on when configuring users.
Notes on Orders
You can now add a note to an order placed in ShopSite. These notes are *internal notes only*. Only you can see them as the merchant. You can enable this new feature in the “Configure” section of Orders. We recommend enabling the timestamp and username options.
US Postal Service (USPS) Change
With v11, there is a change for First Class Mail rates. Previously, you had to set a first class container for each product that could ship first class. Now, if you offer first class rates, and a product is under 13 ounces, it will automatically qualify for first class rates.
It’s no longer necessary to set a first class container for regular first class rates.
New template tags and built-in templates
It’s always difficult to figure out how to implement new features in custom templates. Many merchants also want to see what the new templates look like without trying each one.
Fortunately, ShopSite’s Cookbook makes both of these tasks easy to accomplish:
Facebook Connect for Customer Registration
If you want to allow your customers to log into Customer Registration using their Facebook login, you have to first set up Facebook Connect. Facebook has changed the way Connect works since v11 was released. The docs mention an API Key, but Facebook no longer uses this field.
As a workaround, you can just enter the “Application ID” in the “API Key” field and it should work fine.
Also, if you do not have your own SSL certificate, you should enter the shared SSL URL in the “Site URL” and “Site Domain” fields on the Facebook Developer page.
HTML Toolbar and Internet Explorer
If you use Internet Explorer as your web browser, and you make use of the html toolbar in the backoffice, you may get prompted to display insecure content. If you say no, the html toolbar will not fully function. Just say yes to display insecure content, and the full toolbar will load. This will be patched by ShopSite in an upcoming patch/release.
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Just a few tidbits to help you get the most out of ShopSite 11. Feel free to add your tips in the comments below. 
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