I'm finally spending the proper time to work up the new online store and bring mbp into the mid-2010's. While I'm developing I'd like to get some opinions and suggestions on features you would like to see. After this upcoming projects release in a few days I'll be working on this full-time with the hopes of launching either end of May or early June.
Things that are already happening:
- "Modern" store with proper user account, checkout, order history, etc. For example, if you've visited Aion, PedalPCB, THCustom, etc all that type of usability and functionality will be included in the new mbp store. IOW, like almost every other e-commerce site has done except me.
- Updating older project docs into the current format.
- Getting some better and format consistent pics of items in the store.
- Adding some new categories like parts/components (this is more long term).
- Proper notifications of rec'd orders (something that has been critically lacking with the current setup).
- More personalized emails for shipping notification, etc.
Things that could be added:
- I could expand beyond accepting Paypal into regular CC payments, if that's something people want.
- There could be some social media type integration like customer profiles, etc. for anyone who might enjoy that.
- (Infrequent) newsletters to announce releases or milestones via email, etc.
Mostly I'm after things I haven't thought of. I want to keep the overall feel very easy to navigate without some of the overwhelming info dumps you get on a lot of WordPress based websites. I think PedalPCB is the perfect example of ease of navigation, although I definitely will go a bit further with content.
This is great news! I'd say you were on the right track if you like the pedalpcb layout.
I'd like the option to not have to make an account or sign in. I don't ever want to make another account or password ever again, or log into anything ever.
One thing I like about the current store is that it doesn't require clicking through to see what stuff is. It's all there on the list.
Agree with Harry. Yet another username/password is... not something I'd be keen on.
Would it be possible to integrate the forum with the shop, so that forum accounts can be used on the shop, rather than creating a separate account?
You will be able to use the store without creating an account so no problem there. Accounts are just for those who want them. I agree...some stores I shop at I keep accounts on but others I don't.
I won't be able to integrate forum membership into the store AFAIK.
Quote from: harryklippton on April 11, 2021, 03:17:15 AM
One thing I like about the current store is that it doesn't require clicking through to see what stuff is. It's all there on the list.
This is something I want to retain. Have a complete list like the current store with add to cart and doc d/l, but able to click on an individual project for additional info/content. Like the previous version of the AionFX store.
Yeah, I was going to mention that the simplicity of the current ordering page is very nice, maybe update the style and just clean it up a little. moving the side bar (with the shipping and whatnot) to the bottom of the page, or adding a subpage with shipping info, would make it more mobile browser friendly, but I get why it is where it is.
Adding another layer of functionality under it, like individual pages for each category or effect would be nice. I definitely think you should keep the difficulty levels and maybe even add an option to sort by difficulty might be cool for people starting off.
One of the things I really like about the shop is that you let your personality and sense of humor be part of it. I laugh at stuff in the build docs all the time, so keeping stuff like that in the mix would be fun.
Quote from: Matmosphere on April 11, 2021, 07:01:46 PM
One of the things I really like about the shop is that you let your personality and sense of humor be part of it. I laugh at stuff in the build docs all the time, so keeping stuff like that in the mix would be fun.
Agree with this too. That's part of what brought me here in the first place.
I don't know if it'd be hard to implement but some kind of "dang I missed out on X board" function might be cool. I know a fair few folks post asking for discontinued boards so if you had 10/20/400 people saying they'd be all over a certain discontinued PCB it could be cool. Kinda like taydas stock notification alert. That is provided it's something you'd be okay with doing I mean!
Quote from: zombie_rock123 on April 11, 2021, 10:36:56 PM
I don't know if it'd be hard to implement but some kind of "dang I missed out on X board" function might be cool. I know a fair few folks post asking for discontinued boards so if you had 10/20/400 people saying they'd be all over a certain discontinued PCB it could be cool. Kinda like taydas stock notification alert. That is provided it's something you'd be okay with doing I mean!
+1
Quote from: zombie_rock123 on April 11, 2021, 10:36:56 PM
I don't know if it'd be hard to implement but some kind of "dang I missed out on X board" function might be cool. I know a fair few folks post asking for discontinued boards so if you had 10/20/400 people saying they'd be all over a certain discontinued PCB it could be cool. Kinda like taydas stock notification alert. That is provided it's something you'd be okay with doing I mean!
I might be able to do a "special order" section, I think. Someone requests an item, but not be charged for it unless and until I can get some made. Or, I could do a rotation of special offers, like a small batch of discontinued boards available for a time.
I'll have to give some thought as to how best to make that work. I'm not kidding when I say I am already almost out of physical space to store things, haha.
I don't like when I click to buy something, it opens another tab. I like the little box that comes up on some pages, or if it would just add it to my cart, I can click on my cart when I'm done.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
I'd like to see a somewhat hidden link to a super secret section of the store where we can buy things like scrapped prototypes and boards with errors and anything else sold as-is, no warranty. You know, save the planet, one man's junk is another man's treasure, etc. ;)
I've never had any issues with the current setup, although, yes there are more elegant ways of taking peoples money :-)
I pays my money, I gets my boards. Quickly.
I've also been hanging around this place for so long that it's second nature. I do like the idea of getting a groundswell of folks looking for old projects to get fired up again. I'm not sure what kind of quantities make it worth your while as an order. There would have to be a level of commitment from the buyer's side as well. Bugg gets around it with a waiting list via email, which usually lets you know ahead of it being posted to the website, but it's usually new products that are put out there as the dangling carrot.
I also like the idea of a few parts, and even then likely just project specific ones. I don't imagine you can get around the sheer buying power of SB and LMS and their ilk nor would you want to dump that kind of investment in inventory.
Quote from: harryklippton on April 11, 2021, 03:17:15 AM
One thing I like about the current store is that it doesn't require clicking through to see what stuff is. It's all there on the list.
Oh, total agreement on that. I effin' HATE webstores that make you click through endless pages. EVERYTHING ON ONE PAGE, DAMMIT!
Quote from: jimilee on April 12, 2021, 01:11:39 PM
I don't like when I click to buy something, it opens another tab. I like the little box that comes up on some pages, or if it would just add it to my cart, I can click on my cart when I'm done.
Yes, that's exactly how it will work.
Quote from: EBK on April 12, 2021, 01:25:32 PM
I'd like to see a somewhat hidden link to a super secret section of the store where we can buy things like scrapped prototypes and boards with errors and anything else sold as-is, no warranty. You know, save the planet, one man's junk is another man's treasure, etc. ;)
There will be hidden links most likely, but probably for silly stupid things.
I second the idea of a 'sample sale' section for unused prototypes. If you've got boards just taking up space, seems like a cool idea to free up stock space and maybe find some cool gems.
Very cool! You going the Wordpress route?
Quote from: aion on April 13, 2021, 01:32:28 PM
Very cool! You going the Wordpress route?
Yeah. WooCommerce using DIVI to build the theme. The wife uses Divi on a lot of her sites so she should be able to help when I need it. There are just so many settings and procedures to know it's a bit overwhelming.
Quote- (Infrequent) newsletters to announce releases or milestones via email, etc.
I would like that. One per month max is the good amount.
I don't look at the forum very often now but I would like to still be aware of what's going on at your shop.
Especially when you do limited offers, etc.
I don't use fasebook and all the others...
Quote from: madbean on April 12, 2021, 03:48:33 PM
There will be hidden links most likely, but probably for silly stupid things.
(https://64.media.tumblr.com/c3cf1b530a9395a256f6c49ea76c9716/tumblr_mjcfbjIQte1qi0t5fo6_r2_500.gif)
Everything on one page is nice, especially with the easily accessible documentation. It might be nice to be able to filter by type, but you tend to keep a fairly curated stock of projects. It's not like you're offering hundreds of overdrives, which would make it much harder to find something.
Quote from: madbean on April 12, 2021, 03:48:33 PM
...
There will be hidden links most likely, but probably for silly stupid things.
I like silly stupid things.
I also like things that work. Right now, the store works very well IMO.
I just bought all the Bass series and had some other stuff in the cart, the cart didn't "time-out" like some other PCB suppliers, and I was able to continue shopping after doing more research on what I wanted to add to the cart. BIG PLUS HERE! A cart that doesn't expire. Thank you.
I like the current MadBean products page as is.
Personally, I hate the new AION layout. It used to be more like MadBean, a nice big long list. Search for Aion PCBs and all you get is the new 1590N1 stuff, none of the legacy smaller 1590B boards, which for some builds I prefer. The 1590B is there, but not if you click on the filter "PCB".
When you get to the point that not everything will fit on one page, make it 2 pages, NOT an endless scroll like fecalbrook and other websites have adopted — please for the love of sanity. Having 10 items per page selectable to 20, 50 or ALL is good.
So paradoxically I like everything on one page, but hate endless scroll-sites!
One thing to improve (or I'm doing it wrong):
Adding items to the cart one at a time could be improved by adding multiple items. When I bought the Bass Series, I could've just bulk-selected all four items, but instead as soon as I clicked on one item I was taken to the PayPal interface. Not really a big deal, because the order system takes you right back to where you were, unlike some other online stores. I'm nitpicking.
What I can't seem to get my head around is the Forum. I lurked for a long time, I've started posting, but I still can't seem to navigate around the MB forum as easily as TalkBass or PedalPCB.
And despite sitting on watch all of February waiting for it, I still missed out on the RustBucket, I must've been in the loo or something when that dropped. Please make more!
Some day I'll figure out a way to keep my posts to a paragraph. Today is not that day.
Quote from: Feral Feline on April 20, 2021, 02:11:00 AM
..
What I can't seem to get my head around is the Forum. I lurked for a long time, I've started posting, but I still can't seem to navigate around the MB forum as easily as TalkBass or PedalPCB.
I do all my navigating from the recent posts page. That might be helpful: https://www.madbeanpedals.com/forum/index.php?action=recent (https://www.madbeanpedals.com/forum/index.php?action=recent)
Quote from: Feral Feline on April 20, 2021, 02:11:00 AM
And despite sitting on watch all of February waiting for it, I still missed out on the RustBucket, I must've been in the loo or something when that dropped. Please make more!
Brian mentioned somewhere here this week that he hasn't been able to source the included bipolar power supply component for some time. I'd also like to give the rustbucket a go and have been waiting for it to come back in stock.
Quote from: harryklippton on April 20, 2021, 02:44:23 AM
Quote from: Feral Feline on April 20, 2021, 02:11:00 AM
..
What I can't seem to get my head around is the Forum. I lurked for a long time, I've started posting, but I still can't seem to navigate around the MB forum as easily as TalkBass or PedalPCB.
I do all my navigating from the recent posts page. That might be helpful: https://www.madbeanpedals.com/forum/index.php?action=recent (https://www.madbeanpedals.com/forum/index.php?action=recent)
Quote from: Feral Feline on April 20, 2021, 02:11:00 AM
And despite sitting on watch all of February waiting for it, I still missed out on the RustBucket, I must've been in the loo or something when that dropped. Please make more!
Brian mentioned somewhere here this week that he hasn't been able to source the included bipolar power supply component for some time. I'd also like to give the rustbucket a go and have been waiting for it to come back in stock.
Thanks Harry!
When it comes to the build docs, really good pics of the project board populated and how you have routed wiring would be great.
My first couple of more difficult projects would have went easier with at very least a good top down fully populated board, especially when I was ordering so I could compare the part to yours and be sure I got the right one, which I usually did except for that one or three times I bought the wrong thing. 😂
I like the way the store is now, but if you were to maybe use a dropdown box or links to page anchors for different type of pedal that would save some scrolling time.
If you're doing a complete change, I'd say definitely keep the downloadable files available like they are now at the least.
As for the login, I am assuming if it has a cart capability the webstore would be using PHP, if that's the case you can change the login variables to use the forum login as well or the session variable.
I used to build websites before it became unlikely to make a living doing so, trade you web development lessons for pedal design lessons (how to choose parts) 😁
Quote from: StevenMorgan on July 22, 2021, 02:36:47 PM
Very often, people misunderstand some info they read online. Shopify dropshipping is an online marketing strategy that enables small businesses to quickly set up a store on Shopify without any programming knowledge and start selling within 48 hours. The advantages are that you control your store's design and content, and you can take orders from your customers instantly, with few restrictions. Once the order has been fulfilled, the shopkeeper will ship your product to your customer's address provided on the order form.
(https://media1.giphy.com/media/UGba4CcQG8T9m/200w.gif?cid=82a1493bdclcj7lngzq7ncejbbpd3b0b5c0cftmhvhlyt4y8&rid=200w.gif&ct=g)