e-Commerce FAQ

We have tried our best to answer all Frequently Asked Questions, but if after reading this section you are still in doubt, please feel free to contact us.

What do you do?

Short version: At Finestshops we design, install, host, monitor, maintain, support and promote Internet stores for small and medium size businesses without a large IT department.

Long version: We work with small and medium retailers and manufacturers who want to increase sales by reaching new national and international markets using the Internet, but do not have the time and experience to do everything in-house. With our turn-key Enterprise e-Commerce Suite, you will get everything you need to run a successful corporate website and on-line store: professional design, a robust content management system, an extremely customizable storefront and powerful shopping-cart system, an industry-leading help desk and live support system to help you provide outstanding customer service, premium hosting with 100 percent network up-time backed by Rackspace — the world’s leading hosting provider — and 24/7 pro-active monitoring.

How much will my online store cost?

Our complete managed and hosted ecommerce solution starts from $145/mo. We are using a premium e-commerce application as the base so there is no or very minimal development cost for the client. For something exclusive like a jewelery store, for example, you may want to go with a semi-custom or custom designed store which is normally around $1500-$6000 (one time design and integration). We have one of the best designers teams in the industry and combine visual perfection with a user friendly interface optimized for maximum conversion rate (visitors to orders) and for the search engines to drive more traffic to your store. If you want to setup an Internet store, call us for a proposal before you spend $20,000 – $30,000 for something you will want to re-do in 6 months because it just does not sell (happens way to often).

What’s the catch with the 60-day money-back guarantee? How much will you charge me?

You are never under any obligation to open an account with FinestShops. If you feel it’s not working out for you, just let us know and we will cancel your account immediately – no questions asked; no cancellation fees. Why? Because we are trying to create a risk-free environment to make you as comfortable with your decision as possible. No hard sale, no pressure – we are here to help, not to sell you something you do not want. If you cancel before your third renewal date, we will refund your first two months fee.

Do I need to know any coding to use this system?

With FinestShops, you will not need to learn HTML or any other coding language. There is no software to install. The beauty of this management solution is that all the technical requirements will be taken care of for you! We import your products, images and customers into your new store. We will set up shipping charges and taxes, connect your store to the payment processing system of your choice, and make design and functionality modifications for you. We go well beyond standard technical support. A personal account manager will be assigned to help you with any aspect of managing your store. We are your e-commerce IT department.

Me and/or my staff are not technically advanced. How hard is to use that system?

Our web-based control panel allows you to easily process orders, add products or additional pages, and change text or labels with only a few mouse clicks from any Web browser in the world, any time you want!

How good is your hosting platform?

You will be hosted at the premium Rackspace data center – one of the best hosting providers in the world. We use the Rackspace Washington, DC data center for North American clients and Rackspace London, UK data center for European clients. Your store will always be fast and unaffected by other sites because our Virtual Private Server has guaranteed minimum CPU power (relative to the size of your VPS). You can increase or decrease your server’s capacity at any time and enjoy the same security and redundancy against hardware failures as $10,000/mo systems at a fraction of the cost.

What is the server size you suggest?

Here is an approximate upgrade schedule:
Our servers are optimized for PHP/MySQL e-commerce software and have nothing else running on them, which dramatically decreases hardware requirements, while upholding maximum speed and stability.
The usual scenario is to start with the smallest server and upgrade as your store and traffic require more resources. For example, you may not want to pay for a large server while your store is in the development phase. As well, we do offer a free month of hosting to help you to offset some of the development cost – please contact sales about this offer. Here are the approximate numbers to consider for upgrading milestones:
512MB / 20GB VPS – Development / Initial test ad campaign (up to 15,000 unique visitors per month).
1GB / 40GB VPS – Up to 50,000 unique visitors per month
2GB / 80GB VPS – Up to 100,000 unique visitors per month
4GB / 160GB VPS – Up to 200,000 unique visitors per month with low database usage
8GB / 320GB VPS – Up to 200,000 unique visitors per month with large hard drive space requirements
2Gb/80GB main server plus 2Gb/80GB database server – Up to 400,000 unique visitors per month with high database usage
4Gb/120GB main server plus 4Gb/120GB database server – Over 400,000 unique visitors per month with high database usage
The above numbers are approximate. Each store is unique and has a different amount of graphics and intensity of database queries. The good news is that upgrading or downgrading your server takes just minutes, and involves no downtime or lost data. And with our 24/7 proactive performance monitoring, we will notify you if your store becomes slow or unstable and it’s time to upgrade. In addition, you may consider using a larger server during your high traffic seasons (October – December, for example) and a smaller server in between. Please contact us if you need more information about this.

Does FinestShops system support Authorize.net and PayPal?

Yes, your store will fully support authorize.net and PayPal Standard, Paypal Extrpess and Paypal Pro payments. Many other payment gateways are also supported.

Can I have custom features in my store?

Almost any functionality you need can be added to your store with our professional custom development services or by your own developers. You have full access to the store codes, templates and database to make any changes you wish.

How many products can I have in my store?

You can add an unlimited number of products.

My credit card processing gateway is not present in the list of supported gateways. What can I do to make it so that the storefront supports my CC processing gateway?

Contact us for an integration quote.

What service package would I need from Authorize.net to use their credit card processing services in this storefront?

Your store supports both Authorize.net AIM (Advanced Integration Method) and SIM (Simple Integration Method) methods. Advanced Integration Method (AIM) is the preferred solution.

I want to keep the same ‘look’ throughout my whole website. Is it possible to integrate the storefront with my look and feel?

This system is based on templates, which can be modified in any way you want , using the built-in template editor or by uploading new templates by FTP. You can do everything from a simple change of images and colors, to complete design integration of any complexity. Some knowledge of HTML is required to make the changes. Or, you can always ask us to make the changes for you.

Can I use my account with you for more than one website?

Each VPS package comes with the Parallels® Plesk Panel (10 domains), which means that you can add up to ten websites to your server. If you want to add another store, you just need an additional software license, dedicated IP address and SSL certificate. Please contact us for more information about adding multiple stores to the account.

After signing up, how soon can we be up and running?

After we get your order, we will set up your server, do system security hardening and php/mysql optimization, install and configure e-commerce software, set up backups and send you a welcome email with all the necessary login information. Normally, this takes one business day. We’ll need more time if you want additional systems and services installed. At this time, we will start setting up your shipping, taxes, payment processing and business policies. Normally, we’ll need 2-3 business days for that. Product import or migration time will depend on the number of products and the origin. Semi-custom and custom designs normally takes 3-6 weeks to complete but we do not have to wait for the design to be complete to setup everything else. After you request and accept our proposal, we’ll prepare the time line of the project for your reference.

Does this storefront support the sale of e-goods? In other words, can I sell products for download only (no shipping)?

Yes, this feature is supported. Your store will automatically send your customer a download link after the order has been paid for.

Does storefront support sub-categories?

Yes, this system supports unlimited category nesting: sub-categories, sub-sub-categories and so on.

I need to be able to show a large picture of my products, in addition to the thumbnail. Do you support both thumbnails and larger pictures?

Every product can have a thumbnail image and additional product images, which can be shown on the product details page. You can also enable a zoom feature so that customers can see more details.

My current site is getting traffic from search engines. I do not want to loose it.

Our system is extremely friendly to search engines and utilizes several search engines optimization (SEO) tools. We can match your product, categories and info page file names so that all URLs will stay the same.

Do you offer a free trial?

We did offer free trials, but were getting dozens of orders per day from people who never even logged in once to try the service. We put a lot of effort into setting up a new store and want to see some commitment from clients as well. This does not mean there is any risk for you in trying our service. We don’t include a long term contract and we offer a “no questions asked 60-day money-back guarantee”, so you can feel safe placing an order.

Do you offer refunds?

Yes, we offer a “no questions asked 60-day refund” of setup and two months worth of hosting fees, and there is no long term contract, so you can cancel at any time.

I already have a store and want to switch. Can I import my data?

Yes, we can import customers and products into your new store from a csv or excel file, and we can also migrate products, customers and order information from some other systems. Please send us more information on your existing data format so we can check what can be imported.

How often is my site backed up?

Your whole website is backed up every night with our automated managed high performance continuous data protection system, powered by R1Soft – another service used by many Fortune 500 companies and now available for your business.

Do you offer emails?

Yes, you can add an unlimited number of email accounts and use any email client (Microsoft Outlook, Gmail or Mozilla Thunderbird) to download your messages. In addition, we offer free integration with Google Apps (a Google Business service for spam-free email, shared documents, calendars and more. You can check that amazing service at http://www.google.com/a).

Can I make changes via FTP?

Yes, you will get FTP, SFTP, SSH and SCP access to your account, root to the server access (if needed), as well as phpMyAdmin to access and manage the databases.

Can I upgrade between packages?

Yes, we can easily upgrade or downgrade your server at any time. Just log in to your store’s control panel and click [Upgrade] or contact us and we’ll handle the upgrade for you.

Can I use sub-domains?

Yes, you can add an unlimited number of sub-domains.

Do you sell SSL certificates?

Your account includes a RapidSSL certificate by GeoTrust, and we offer other premium SSL certificates from GeoTrust and VeriSign. Let us know which one you need.

Can I use my own SSL certificate?

Yes, we can install your own SSL certificate at no charge, as long as it’s compatible with our servers.

How do I start?

Simply submit a proposal request at the bottom of this page. We’ll take it from there. Normally, your new turn-key e-commerce system can go live in 1-5 business days but that depends on which additional functionality or design services you want.