I have been thinking about buying residential property in Los Angeles or Seattle or Dallas. I just went and looked six places today (all condos and one rambler) in Los Angeles.
I have had a Chase HSA for a year and finally actually looked into what they’ve been doing. They charge me a $2.50 a month fee just for having an account (even though I have a high balance)! They also charged me a $20.00 processing fee for simply taking some of the money out! Chase HSA is a huge ripoff and I strongly recommend you not to use it! I have been waiting on the phone for 30 minutes now listening to Chase HSA’s garbage jazz music trying to talk to an account representative. Awful awful awful company.
Below is the results of my extensive research on the best new computer options in buying a new computer. I also attached an excel spreadsheet file that can help you decide whether a laptop or a desktop is best for you: New-Computer-Decision Excel File
Over the weekend, I took Unit 1 of CS101 Intro to Programming (Python) on Udacity.com. I thought the lessons were extremely well done, probably the best I’ve seen of the open courseware suites so far. Really great. I, of course, already know PHP and C# but don’t know Python so I thought that this would be a great introduction. I have learned a lot so far and am excited to take the next 7 units as I find the time.
Do you run a business using the BigCommerce platform? If so, you already have access to some of the best SEO features available for any shopping cart, but that doesn’t mean that your site is reaching its full SEO potential. As the founder and CEO of a successful BigCommerce SEO company, I have seen how just a few professional customization touches can help businesses to reach new heights of success in a short period of time. But before we get into the specifics of how a BigCommerce SEO agency can benefit your business, let’s start with the basics.
If you need a BigCommerce SEO agency, I invite you to check out Coalition Technologies. We are a certified BigCommerce partner, and we have helped businesses to improve sales more than 10 times over. Just check out our case studies and see for yourself. We have a full time staff of professional SEOs, copywriters, developers and designers who all work together to elevate our clients to new heights of success. Call us for a free quote at 1-888-800-9101.
What is SEO?
For those who don’t already know, SEO stands for “search engine optimization.” In a nutshell, it’s the process of achieving optimal search engine rankings for target keywords. For example, let’s say that you run a business specializing in rubber dog toys. You would want your website to appear near the top of the Google search results whenever someone performs a search for “rubber dog toys.”
BigCommerce and SEO
BigCommerce comes equipped with a wealth of SEO tools. Using the platform, you can easily create title tags and meta descriptions, implement SEO-friendly URLs, publish original copy and optimize your online store for conversion. These measures are all immensely helpful, but they can only get you so far. For instance, BigCommerce cannot build links for you, and it cannot compose the kind of keyword-optimized page copy that drives traffic and improves search rankings.
Advantages of BigCommerce
For those who don’t have a strong grasp of web development, BigCommerce makes it easy to automate many of the behind-the-scenes aspects of SEO. For instance, title tags and meta descriptions—the page titles and description text used by search engines—are coded into the page source, but you don’t need to understand coding in order to incorporate custom metas into your BigCommerce site. You can simply enter them into the user-friendly title and meta fields using your built-in content management system.
Some aspects of SEO are automated entirely by BigCommerce, meaning that you don’t need to worry about them at all. BigCommerce uses an optimal link navigation structure, creates search-friendly URLs and uses page layouts designed to maximize conversion rates. Simply having these features provides a huge head start to anyone concerned about SEO.
Limitations of BigCommerce
Of course, BigCommerce can’t do everything for you. You’re going to need some custom developers on your side if you want to ensure that your entire site is optimally set up for ongoing search engine crawlability and indexing. This involves testing—and sometimes amending—the types of server responses, minimizing duplicate content created by dynamic URLs, pinpointing weaknesses in the source code, and eliminating dead links, just to name a few examples.
Additionally, SEO involves a tremendous amount of research. It’s not enough to simply understand your industry. You need to figure out exactly what relevant terms and phrases are receiving search engine traffic. Furthermore, it’s important to find just the right combination of primary keywords, secondary keywords and long-tail keywords to drive the most possible traffic from a wide variety of sources. This is where professional SEO is so hugely beneficial.
Lastly, of course, we have the issue of link building. Links are paramount in building relevance with Google and securing prominent search engine rankings. But if you don’t build the right links, your site may derive no value, or may even be penalized. It is absolutely essential that an SEO plan include an ongoing link-building campaign, which targets the most beneficial kinds of links in just the right quantities.
Choosing a BigCommerce SEO Partner
If you are interested in hiring a BigCommerce SEO agency to help you improve your search engine presence, it’s very important to choose a certified BigCommerce partner. BigCommerce partners must be approved by the company itself, and must have a thorough understanding of the platform. BigCommerce partners also have access to a wealth of tools, features, tutorials and customer service benefits that non-partners do not have.
When looking for an SEO agency, it’s also important to check out the company’s portfolio and ask important questions, such as:
1) What companies have you worked for in the past?
2) How much have you improved traffic and sales for your other clients?
3) Do you have access to professional web developers?
4) Does your SEO plan include professional copywriting services?
5) Do you offer any guarantees?
Choose Coalition Technologies
If you need a BigCommerce SEO agency, I invite you to check out Coalition Technologies. We are a certified BigCommerce partner, and we have helped businesses to improve sales more than 10 times over. Just check out our case studies and see for yourself. We have a full time staff of professional SEOs, copywriters, developers and designers who all work together to elevate our clients to new heights of success. Call us for a free quote at 1-888-800-9101.
Popular televangelist preacher Joel Osteen has been named the “Most Influential Christian in America” in 2006 by the Church Report, was one of Barbara Walters, “10 Most Fascinating People of 2006 and operates an extraordinarily profitable religious scam operation that probably will one day end in scandal.
So who is this guy who has appeared on 60 Minutes, Larry King Live and has his own television shows?
Who is this guy who thinks he can share the mighty name of Joel?
Joel Osteen has not yet had major sex scandals, drug scandals or molestation scandals like the other megachurch pastors: Pat Robertson, Al Sharpton, Ted Haggard, Paul Barnes, D.E. (Earl) Paulk, Jimmy Swaggert, Jim Bakker, William Dodd and too many others to possibly mention here. What Joel Osteen DOESN’T do is the real question.
In his sermons, Joel Osteen does not talk about God. Joel Osteen instead talks about almost everything except God. He has a television ministry, a massive church, $43 million a year in tithes and another $36 million a year in mailed in donations, but he won’t talk about God. He, like Pastor Kevin Gerald, talks about more pleasant topics, such as donating money to him and positive thinking. He has written two books, the second of which sold 3 million copies, but his books don’t really talk about God either. It’s just his bland and boring advice on how to live a happy life that has been thought of by other people first, “Think positively about yourself” and other such drivel.
What does Joel Osteen say when people ask him about why he does not discuss God or Jesus Christ or sin or what you need to do to go to Heaven? “That’s not my gift.” What are you doing being a freaking megachurch pastor then, bonehead?!
If you are going to try to operate a religious scam, at least make it religious! I actually think that Joel Osteen operating a secular “Christian” church is more of a scandal than Ted Haggard and his transsexual prostitutes and meth! (Though not nearly as funny of a scandal).
Joel Osteen didn’t even found his megachurch; instead the business was handed down to him by his father. When Joel Osteen became the head pastor of his church, he had only preached ONE sermon in his entire life- and that was the week before. Joel Osteen does not have any training in the Bible (seminary, degrees, etc.), which is probably why he doesn’t want to talk about it much.
My loyal readers have pointed out to me many times that the ridiculous actions of leaders in religion do not invalidate their beliefs. They are absolutely correct on this. However, there has never been anything that VALIDATES their beliefs either. The Flying Spaghetti Monster has the same amount of evidence on his side as most other gods. Here is another question I put to you: Please find me a single megachurch pastor who is NOT a scam-running, meth-eating, prostitute-abusing criminal. Anyone?
Update March 3, 2008 on JOEL OSTEEN:
Many people have been discussing Joel Osteen in the comments and making statements about his beliefs, behavior and preaching methods that show a distinct lack of understanding of his profit driven motives. Below I have added a video of Joel Osteen on Larry King Live where he dances around the core question of the Christian faith: What does it take to get to heaven? Joel Osteen hems and haws and won’t even say that people of different religions won’t make it to heaven. Watch the words come out of Mr. Osteen’s mouth yourself.
The partial transcript for Joel Osteen’s interview with Larry King is below. I have basically pulled out the most pertinent excerpts to the point I have tried to make on televangelist Joel Osteen.
Televangelist Joel Osteen Discusses Christianity with Larry King
First is Larry King’s impressive introduction of Joel Osteen:
LARRY KING, CNN HOST: Tonight, Joel Osteen, evangelism’s hottest rising star, pastor for the biggest congregation in the United States… Pastor Joel Osteen is here for the hour…. Joel Osteen is the author of the number one “New York Times” best-seller, “Your Best Life Now.” There you see its cover. “Seven Steps to Living at Your Full Potential.” There is now a compendium been published called “Your Best Life Now Journal,” a guide to reaching that full potential. Joel Osteen is pastor of Lakewood Church in Houston, Texas. His father before him. He has been called the smiling preacher.
Larry King knows Joel Osteen Ministries is huge and tries to play nice with him throughout the interview.
KING: Why are you a preacher?
JOEL OSTEEN: You know, I never was for 17 years. I worked with my dad there at the church. He tried to get me to minister. I didn’t have it in me. I worked behind the scenes. I loved doing production and things. But when my father died, I just knew — I don’t know how to explain it, it sounds kind of odd, but I just knew down to here I was supposed to step up to the plate and pastor the church. And it was odd because I had never preached before. But I just knew I was supposed to do it.
Hmmm… either God gave him the “calling” or he was scared of losing his father’s multi-million dollar preaching business.
KING: But don’t you think if people don’t believe as you believe, they’re somehow condemned?
JOEL OSTEEN: You know, I think that happens in our society. But I try not to do that. I tell people all the time, preached a couple Sundays about it. I’m for everybody. You may not agree with me, but to me it’s not my job to try to straighten everybody out. The Gospel called the good news. My message is a message of hope, that’s God’s for you. You can live a good life no matter what’s happened to you. And so I don’t know. I know there is condemnation but I don’t feel that’s my place.
Joel Osteen comes right out and says that he will refuse to condemn sinners. He is too afraid, it’s not his place, he just wants to spew bland niceties… hmmm.
LARRY KING: Where were you ordained? OSTEEN: I was ordained from the church there, Lakewood, under my dad’s ministry.
LARRY KING: So you didn’t go to seminary?
JOEL OSTEEN: No, sir, I didn’t.
LARRY KING: They can just make you a minister?
JOEL OSTEEN: You can, you can.
Wow. Joel Osteen never even attended Bible school or classes for future preachers. No wonder he is so clueless about Biblical theology.
LARRY KING: Is it hard to lead a Christian life?
JOEL OSTEEN: I don’t think it’s that hard. To me it’s fun. We have joy and happiness. Our family — I don’t feel like that at all. I’m not trying to follow a set of rules and stuff. I’m just living my life.
LARRY KING: But you have rules, don’t you?
JOEL OSTEEN: We do have rules. But the main rule to me is to honor God with your life. To life a life of integrity. Not be selfish. You know, help others. But that’s really the essence of the Christian faith.
Of course its not hard for Joel Osteen to lead a Christian life. BECAUSE HE’S NOT!!!
LARRY KING: What if you’re Jewish or Muslim, you don’t accept Christ at all?
JOEL OSTEEN: You know, I’m very careful about saying who would and wouldn’t go to heaven. I don’t know …
LARRY KING: If you believe you have to believe in Christ? They’re wrong, aren’t they?
JOEL OSTEEN: Well, I don’t know if I believe they’re wrong. I believe here’s what the Bible teaches and from the Christian faith this is what I believe. But I just think that only God with judge a person’s heart. I spent a lot of time in India with my father. I don’t know all about their religion. But I know they love God. And I don’t know. I’ve seen their sincerity. So I don’t know. I know for me, and what the Bible teaches, I want to have a relationship with Jesus.
The last exchange between Larry King and Joel Osteen hits the nail on the head of everything that is wrong with the Joel Osteen Ministry. All it is is fluff. He can’t even defend the single core belief of Christianity- that a personal relationship with Jesus Christ is a requirement to gain access to Heaven.
Below is more Joel Osteen preaching videos. Joel Osteen preaches on cheesy, transparent topics that have nothing to do with the Bible. He twists scripture around to serve his own purposes of mass produced drivel. My question to Joel Osteen is where in the Bible does it say Christians have a “right to total victory” over physical pain, financial problems and other issues? Did he completely miss the book of Job or the trials and tribulations that the early Christians had to suffer under the Romans? I don’t think that Joel Osteen has ever even read the Bible. Watch the uncut three minute long Joel Osteen video below that comes directly from his sermons to Joel’s megachurch.
DO NOT LET JOEL OSTEEN CONTINUE TO GET AWAY WITH HIS BIBLE-CONTRADICTING, POLITICALLY CORRECT AND PROFIT SEEKING DRIVEL! JOEL OSTEEN’S SCANDAL IS OUTRAGEOUS!
Jesus once went into a temple and threw out currency traders and salespeople…. WHO WILL THROW THE SCANDAL CREATING JOEL OSTEEN OUT OF GOD’S ASTRODOME TEMPLE?
Further discussion: Joel Osteen megachurch building – Joel Osteen paid the city of Houston $90,000,000 to remodel the former home of NBA team Houston Rockets and an additional $14,000,000 to lease the building for 30 years. Preacher Joel Osteen’s megachurch does not even own the building! Pastor Joel Osteen doesn’t care though- he’ll be dead by then and this church is all about him. The most interesting thing about the new church is that there is not a SINGLE cross in the whole building! Want to know why? Joel Osteen says that he wants to remove all “stumbling blocks” from the way of people coming to his church and being comfortable. Since when has Jesus Christ’s sacrifice on the cross been a STUMBLING BLOCK for faith?! The scandal here is that the Joel Osteen is doing and saying blasphemous things… and no one is calling him out on it. The pastor of the largest church in America won’t even follow the basic tenets of Christianity!
Joel Osteen is unable to even keep his own family under control. Pastor Joel Olsteen’s wife, Victoria Osteen, has been fined $3,000 and is being sued for assaulting a flight attendant on her first-class trip to the playground of the rich and famous Vail, Colorado.
Bible Verses that Condemn Megachurch Pastor Joel Osteen
I have had quite a few people post in the comments asking what does it really matter what Joel Osteen believes if he’s helping people? If Joel Osteen teaches nice things, isn’t it okay for him to be a Christian pastor? I understand that my opinions of right and wrong should not sway you, but I ask you to consider what the Bible says on the matter. First, let’s take the Bible verses that are the standard definition of who is a Christian:
For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. John 3:16 (NIV)
For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. Romans 3:23 (NIV)
For the wages of sin is death. Romans 6:23 (NIV)
For it is by grace you have been saved, through faithand this not from yourselves, it is the gift of Godnot by works, so that no one can boast. Ephesians 2:8-9 (NIV)
To summarize, the only way to be saved and go to heaven is by the grace of Jesus and by faith in God. These are the basic verses that every Christian who has accepted Christ knows. Now for the verses that clearly state that only Christians who believe the above will go to Heaven:
-John 3:3: no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again.
-John 3:15: everyone who believes in him [Jesus] may have eternal life.
-John 3:18: whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of Gods one and only Son.
-John 14:6: Jesus answered: No one comes to the Father except through me
-Acts 3:23: And it shall be, that every soul that shall not hearken to that prophet, shall be utterly destroyed from among the people. (ASV)
-Acts 4:12: Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved
-Romans 10:9: Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved
-Hebrews 9:28: he [Christ] will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for him
-1 John 5:12: he who does not have the Son of God does not have life.
The nine quoted verses above clearly state that only Christians can go to Heaven. Now, if Joel Osteen truly believed and was a pastor of a Bible-based church, would he preach a false message of hope to people? Joel Osteen is essentially subverting the word of God, which motivated me to write this post. I am not sure why Joel would do this, but my postulation (as above) is that he is doing it for financial gain. Joel Osteens father was a pastor and he has been a pastor for a long time now and he should know better than most people the MOST basic tenets of Christianity. Ignorance is an excuse for new Christians (as long as they work at it), but not for a shepherd of the flock.
Do you know what the Bible says about false teachers like Joel Osteen?
-2 Timothy 4:3,4 For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, because they have itching ears, they will heap up for themselves teachers; and they will turn their ears away from the truth , and be turned aside to fables.
-Matthew 7:15,16 Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheeps clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves. You will know them by their fruits.
-Acts 20:29-31 For I know this, that after my departure savage wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock. Also from among yourselves men will rise up, speaking perverse things, to draw away the disciples after themselves . Therefore watch, and remember that for three years I did not cease to warn everyone night and day with tears.
-2 Peter 2:1 But there were also false prophets among the people, even as there will be false teachers among you, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Lord who bought them, and bring upon themselves swift destruction.
-2 Peter 3:16,17 as also in all his epistles, speaking in them of these things, in which are some things hard to understand, which untaught and unstable people twist to their own destruction, as they do also the rest of the Scriptures. You therefore, beloved, since you know this beforehand, beware lest you also fall from your own steadfastness, being led away with the error of the wicked;
-Colossians 2:8 Beware lest anyone cheat you through philosophy and empty deceit, according to the tradition of men, according to the basic principles of the world, and not according to Christ.
-Hebrews 13:9 Do not be carried about with various and strange doctrines. For it is good that the heart be established by grace, not with foods which have not profited those who have been occupied with them.
The Bible is very, very harsh in its condemnation of people who change, twist or leave out parts of its doctrine. False leaders (Joel Osteen), to me, are more disgusting than someone who is a hypocrite (Ted Haggard).
For more information on mega church pastor Joel Osteen you can search Google with the terms joelosteen.com or joel osteen.com to find the man’s website. You could also use terms such as Joel Osteen Website or Joel Osteen Lakewood Church for other sorts of information on him.
Why do I care what Joel Osteen does or doesnt do in his church, especially seeing that I am not religious? People who are cheats, fakes, and phonies really bother me. I have written quite a few other posts on various community leaders who lead people astray for their own personal gain. My tax dollars go to support Joel Osteen (every church in America is exempt from taxes, but Joel Osteen is making millions tax-free teaching his Prosperity Message when he is basically just another self-help guru). I also am very wary of megachurch pastors (I used to attend one and have seen many on television)- they often seem to be some of the craziest people (Jim Jones-Want some Kool Aid?)
Do you manage an online business? If you want to earn the maximum revenue, your business website must have user-friendly buying options, a conversion-optimized layout and search-optimized pages. Your site also needs the kind of professional appearance that will help you to build your brand and leave a good impression on potential buyers. As the founder of one of L.A.’s leading web development and design firms, I have used all of the major eCommerce platforms, and I know firsthand which shopping carts provide the best value. Before you invest in any ecommerce platform, consider the pros and cons of some of the industry leaders.
BigCommerce
The Breakdown:BigCommerce bills itself as “the world’s easiest to use e-commerce software.” Launched in 2009, BigCommerce picked up almost 9,000 customers in its first two months alone, and has shown no signs of slowing down after 3+ years in business. Founder and CEO Mitchell Harper told Small Business Computing, “We created BigCommerce because we felt there was a need for a really simple yet really powerful e-commerce platform that online retailers could use to sell their products and reach more customers.”
The Pros: BigCommerce is definitely one of the easiest and most user-friendly platforms out there. It’s also extremely versatile, allowing you to freely edit PHP, HTML and CSS. So it makes a great option for professional developers as well as the technically-impaired. The platform is also extremely feature-rich, and offers the maximum level of security from hackers.
The Cons: While BigCommerce is a very cost-effective solution for medium-sized and even small businesses, it is not the most cost-effective ecommerce platform on the market. With BigCommerce, you pay for ease of use and a wealth of features, but if you’re looking for the cheapest shopping cart out there, BigCommerce isn’t it.
Shopify
The Breakdown: According to Shopify’s website, “We help emerging small businesses get off the ground and grow into successful companies. We do this by creating great technology and by making it accessible to people that previously wouldn’t be able to afford it.” The company has been around since 2006, and has received accolades from The New York Times, TechCrunch and Fast Company.
The Pros:Shopify offers some of the most attractive pre-designed templates available, so if you’re looking for a stunning layout, Shopify is one of your best solutions. Additionally, the Shopify App Store has one of the biggest libraries of apps and extensions available, so there is very little that you can’t customize with the click of a button.
The Cons: Shopify does not offer round-the-clock support, so if your site breaks down on Sunday or in the middle of the night, don’t expect an immediate resolution. Additionally, Shopify plans are slightly costlier than some of the competitors.
Magento
The Breakdown: According to Magento’s website, “Magento offers flexible, scalable eCommerce solutions designed to help businesses grow and succeed online.” The platform is currently used by more than 125,000 businesses worldwide, and is one of the top industry leaders.
The Pros: If you’re looking for the most affordable platform available, it doesn’t get any more cost-effective than the Magento Community Edition, which is completely free. The more premium editions offer enhanced features while still saving you money, because the plans are affordable and include no transaction fees. Magento is also highly customizable, giving you the ability to edit PHP. Magento also offers great SEO and conversion optimization tools.
The Cons: Magento is not the best option for newbies. Magento is an extremely powerful and versatile platform, and the seemingly-endless array of features can be somewhat overwhelming for beginners and novices.
Volusion
The Breakdown: “Our mission is to help turn your big idea into a successful online business,” so says the official Volusion website. Volusion is one of the oldest e-commerce shopping carts still in business. Founded in 1999, Volusion remains one of the biggest power players in the online shopping cart world.
The Pros: Volusion plans start at only $19 per month, which is outstanding when you consider the wealth of included features. Volusion has everything you need for SEO, conversions, marketing, shipping and more. In addition, the platform is extremely simple to set up and navigate, and support is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
The Cons: If you don’t plan to design your own site, and are hoping to rely on templates and presets, Volusion might not be the ideal choice for you. Volusion’s default layouts pale in comparison to the defaults offered by some of the competitors (like BigCommerce and Shopify, for instance).
3DCart
The Breakdown: According to 3DCart, “We create the best and most complete eCommerce solution available today, allowing hundreds of thousands of people to buy and sell goods, simply and effectively.” 3DCart has served more than 15,000 customers, which is impressive, but still fairly low when compared to competitors like Volusion and BigCommerce.
The Pros: Despite its flaws, 3DCart is easy to use, affordable, and offers an increasingly impressive assortment of tools and features. The drag-and-drop functionality makes the platform extremely user-friendly, and best of all, 3DCart is compatible with more than 50 different payment gateways.
The Cons: 3DCart does not feature its own built-in point of sale system, nor does it feature a product comparison module. Additionally, some of the design features can benefit from an overhaul, and overall, 3DCart just doesn’t offer as many features as its competitors.
Still Can’t Decide?
Overall, BigCommerce and Shopify will give you the most bang for your buck, and Magento and Volusion offer some impressive functionality as well. My company, Coalition Technologies, has worked with all of the major platforms, and we have partnerships with Magento, BigCommerce, Shopify and others. If you need help setting up your online shopping cart, or if you want to take your sales and revenue to new heights with custom design, development and SEO, visit our site or give us a call at 1-888-800-9101 for a free quote.
Magento has only been around since 2008, but in the relatively short time since its original beta release, Magento has become a real force in the world of eCommerce. Having used all of the major shopping cart platforms myself, I have seen just how awesome and how terrible a system can be, depending on the amount of time and effort invested by the company.
Magento easily holds its own against some of the older, more established platforms, and in some ways, it actually leads the pack. When choosing a content management system for your eCommerce store, you have a lot of important considerations to make, and the nice thing about Magento is that it offers so many different plans to meet different needs. But in writing this Magento review, I realize that Magento can be the greatest investment of your life, or the greatest waste of money. It all depends on how you use it. Let’s break it down.
The Price
Let’s face it. You care about the success of your business, but you can’t allow your overhead costs to destroy your profit margin, so price is a very important consideration. Magento is one of the only major shopping cart platforms that offers a free version, the Magento Community Edition, and that’s a price you certainly can’t beat. Bear in mind, though, that the Magento Community Edition has some stripped down features and very limited support, so consider it a tradeoff.
If you want full support and a wide array of available features, you have numerous options available. Magento Go is a great, affordable option for small businesses, and includes plans for as little as $15 per month. If you’re still undecided, you can check out the 30-day free trial. All in all, Magento Go is a terrific value for the majority of eCommerce businesses.
For large businesses, the Magento Enterprise Edition is the way to go. Magento Enterprise is easily one of the most powerful and versatile systems for large businesses, but it is not the most cost-effective solution. If you plan to use Magento Enterprise, or especially Magento Enterprise Premium, understand that the wide array of features will present a substantial financial investment. In the end, though, I believe that the payoff is well worth the sacrifice.
Ease of Use
The ease of use depends on the version of Magento that you’re using. The more advanced your platform, the more complex the commands. For instance, the Magento Community Edition—while not as feature rich—is extremely simple to use, and most people should have little trouble navigating the back-end in Magento Go. Magento Enterprise is substantially more complex, but it also includes round-the-clock support, so you can easily address any questions or uncertainties.
Features
When it comes to features, Magento is a goldmine. From SEO and marketing tools to custom development freedom, there’s virtually nothing that you cannot do in Magento. If you can’t find a particular feature in the default settings, chances are it exists in Magento Connect: The Magento Extension Marketplace. Magento Connect is Magento’s own App Store, where you can download the kinds of add-ons that allow you to truly customize your Magento experience.
Custom Developments
No Magento review would be complete without discussing the partner program. If you truly want to get the most from your eCommerce store, it can be hugely beneficial to hire a custom developer who understands the platform and can truly optimize your site for maximum customization, usability and branding potential. Realizing this need, many shopping cart platforms have introduced partner programs, and Magento’s is one of the best.
All partners must be approved by Magento and understand the platform inside and out, in addition to having the kinds of credentials necessary to take on professional custom developments. Coalition Technologies is your ideal choice in a Magento partner, because whereas many companies have one area of focus, my company specializes in web design, development, SEO and marketing. But we’re not talking about just one or two guys who dabble in different trades. We employ a full-time, Los-Angeles based team of experts, each of whom excels in a specific field.
Thinking About Magento?
Magento is an extremely versatile and powerful platform that can take your online business to new heights of success. If you’re thinking about using Magento for your own business, consider the benefits of hiring a Magento partner to help you to get the most from your efforts. Magento has the potential to maximize your traffic and revenue and establish you as a leading force in your industry, but only if you use the platform to its maximum potential.
Check out Coalition Technologies to learn more and see our impressive portfolio, or give us a call at 1-888-800-9101.
An eCommerce store is only as good as the engine that drives it. As the founder and president of one L.A.’s most successful design firms, I have seen firsthand how a client’s chosen shopping cart solution can make or break the success of a business. So when choosing a shopping cart platform to host your website and product line, you will want to consider all of the variables involved.
Shopify vs Magento
Shopify and Magento are two of the most successful eCommmerce platforms available. Each service offers an impressive array of worthwhile features and functions, including built-in SEO capabilities, slick templates and conversion-friendly marketing tools. But when it comes to issues like price, customization freedom and overall value, there are some vast differences.
Price
When it comes to price, Shopify is usually the better value for smaller businesses. Magento has several editions—including Magento Enterprise, Magento Community and Magento Go—to accommodate different needs and budgets, but Shopify’s plans offer more space and bandwidth. Magento does have a free version, called the Magento Community Edition, but the features are so stripped down that it’s hardly worth your time. Take note, however, that Shopify charges a 2% transaction fee, so if you have a high quantity of transactions, you may want to go with Magento.
Features
When determining the value of a product, it’s important to weigh the price against the available features, and the cheapest option may not necessarily be your best option. While Shopify offers more generous pricing overall, a few of the features are only available for upgraded plans. This is true of Magento as well, but on a smaller scale. For the most part, Magento Go has everything you need right out of the box. So there’s no definitive answer as to which platform has the better features, but make sure to read what’s included before settling on any individual plan.
Customization Freedom
When it comes to customization, Magento has the upper-hand. Magento is a PHP/MySQL-based framework with almost endless customization capabilities. Anyone with a basic understanding of PHP programming should find it easy to customize pages. Shopify, on the other hand, is a hosted, software-as-a-service (SaaS) solution, which means you won’t have access to as much of the source code, but you can make a lot of cosmetic customizations within the pages themselves.
Ease of Use
If you’re looking for the simplest, most straightforward platform available, go with Shopify. Magento is an extremely powerful and versatile engine, but with that power and versatility comes a higher level of complexity. Shopify is meticulously designed so that anyone can use it with ease. Setup is a snap, and no technical knowledge is required.
Support
Both platforms offer excellent support, but Shopify has the overall advantage. That’s because Shopify offers phone support with all of its plans, while Magento does not. If you use the Magento Community Edition, or one of the cheaper versions of Magento Go, you are not eligible to receive phone support. All Magento plans are eligible for email and forum support, however.
The Final Verdict
There’s no definitive answer as to which shopping cart platform is better, because each is suited to different needs. If you run a large, thriving online, or if you just want full customization freedom, your best bet is Magento. However, if you just want your platform to be affordable, simple and user-friendly, with excellent support, go with Shopify. Each platform offers a fully-functional free trial, so try them both on for size and see what works for you.
When researching different shopping cart platforms, you’re going to hear the names “BigCommerce” and “Volusion” come up a lot. That’s because they’re two of the most popular, user-friendly eCommerce platforms available. I’ve used these platforms extensively, and have had positive experiences with both. My design and development company, Coalition Technologies, uses Volusion and BigCommerce to build and manage client websites on a daily basis.
Both of these platforms will get the job done. You can easily create and maintain your online store, collect payments from customers and clients, track your sales, customize your site, run promotions, add and remove products as needed… But, of course, each platform has its own pros and cons. Before you settle on one or the other, you should consider what each package has to offer.
BigCommerce – The Pros
BigCommerce is one powerful tool. Whether you’re a programming guru or a complete web novice, you will appreciate what BigCommerce has to offers. For the serious designers and developers, BigCommerce gives you total freedom to edit PHP, HTML and CSS. There’s almost nothing you can’t customize in BigCommerce. For those who don’t consider themselves tech-savvy, BigCommerce allows you to choose from nearly a hundred different layout templates, so you can build a great site without ever touching a single line of code.
In addition, you can easily create email marketing campaigns, manage product photo galleries, generate reports, create coupons, integrate your social media profiles, and benefit from Level 1 PCI compliance, which means maximum security from hackers. BigCommerce even supports single-page checkout, which is extremely important for ensuring the maximum conversion rate.
Some of the best features of BigCommerce, though, are completely automated. For instance, BigCommerce is designed to convert, with automatic product recommendations, side-by-side product comparisons and customer reviews. BigCommerce looks great on mobile devices as well as desktop computers, and it was designed in part by SEO experts, so your site is expertly optimized for maximum search engine value and high Google rankings.
BigCommerce – The Cons
BigCommerce is designed to give you full control, which is a great thing, but for the beginner, it can be pretty overwhelming. The initial setup and configuration of BigCommerce can be a bit frustrating if you’re new to shopping cart platforms, or even if you’re just new to BigCommerce. You can certainly get the job done, but if the system is unfamiliar to you, you may need to spend some time reading up on how to configure your BigCommerce store, and engaging in a bit of trial and error.
Additionally, while BigCommerce has some great cost-effective packages, it’s not the most inexpensive shopping cart platform you’ll encounter. One can argue, though, that based on the remarkable quality of the product, BigCommerce is worth the few extra dollars each month. It really boils down to your individual needs. Are you just starting out with a small online store, or are you looking to build a serious eCommerce powerhouse
Volusion – The Pros
Volusion is another great eCommerce solution for beginners and seasoned entrepreneurs alike. Aside from being one of the most cost-effective platforms on the market, Volusion is easy to set up, and requires no programming knowledge. Like BigCommerce, Volusion allows you to fully customize your site or just select from a massive library of template layouts.
But what if you want to customize your store without having to tinker with complex code? The “Volusion Exchange” storefront allows you to easily customize your business website using free applications, designed by the Volusion community. This can come in handy if you have a particular need that isn’t fulfilled by the default configuration.
Volusion Cons
When it comes to SEO, BigCommerce is the clear winner. If you want to compete in the digital marketplace, SEO is absolutely paramount, and BigCommerce dominates SEO across the board. Volusion does allow you to create title tags, meta descriptions, page content and alt images with ease, and it even automates certain on-site configurations like XML site maps, but the back-end SEO just isn’t as impressive or as thorough as what you get from BigCommerce.
Aside from SEO, there are the designs. If you’re planning to use templates to build your store, the Volusion designs still leave a lot to be desired. They’re not nearly as sleek or professional-looking as the layouts you’ll get from BigCommerce, but then again, BigCommerce has some of the best layouts in the industry, so it’s almost unfair to compare the two.
The Final Verdict
If you’re still trying to choose between BigCommerce and Volusion, go with BigCommerce. Though both platforms are easy to use and boast a wealth of interactive features, BigCommerce still has the edge. With amazing templates, unparalleled SEO and a conversion-optimized configuration, BigCommerce is the best value for your eCommerce investment.
Best of all, BigCommerce is constantly updating its platform to offer new features and improved functionality, so you can always remain on the cutting edge. Try BigCommerce for yourself and see what it can do for your business.
Coalition Technologies – A BigCommerce Partner
If you want to take full advantage of what BigCommerce has to offer, check out Coalition Technologies. My company is a certified BigCommerce partner for development, design and marketing. Whether you need a programming genius or an SEO guru, we can meet your needs with the greatest level of experience and professionalism. Check out our website or give us a call at 888-800-9101 to receive a free quote and learn how Coalition can help you to get the most from BigCommerce.
