Website Provider Comparison Chart

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theRKF

theRKF

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Disclaimer: Just so that it's very clear, in case someone doesn't know, I'm the owner of one of the projects listed in this chart. Not trying to hide it or be sneaky!

I am assembling, to the best of my ability, a comparison chart of website providers for florists. The chart covers features, options, capabilities and integration - and of course, pricing.

I have spent time reviewing material published by each provider, and there are still some holes, so ....

1) Please let me know if you can fill in any information where the chart has a "?"

2) Please also let me know if something needs to be corrected!

3) Please let me know if a particular provider offers a feature that isn't on the list

My goal is to have the most accurate list possible. I'm not trying to make a sell-sheet for our product, I want an honest head-to-head comparison. This is educational material :)

Draft 5 of the chart is attached. I'll update the chart as I get more info.

Ryan
 

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  • Website Provider Comparison Draft 5.pdf
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Digital Thoughts:

Per order charge: No

Custom Design: Partial, currently 2 different templates, polus another wedding, and another sympathy. "Some" changes can be done by provider"

Domain: Florists own domain name

Content: (Not sure what you want here) but you have unlimited category developement by florist, unlimited items, unlimited add ons, unlimited images, unlimited page additions( about, location etc) plus any you may want.

Add on's: Can be configured by category or individual item.

Customer: (3 questions) no

Integration: I do not know about Mercury, RTI, Advantage ot FW
___________
Not on the list: Supports various shipping charges, per item. Flat Rate, Default, each item can be different, can be weight/zip based.
 
Couple quick ones I noticed - digital thoughts and floristboard and media99 both come with complete gallerys of images, floristboard is MAS and FAS integrated (dunno about other systems)....I'll ask about more.
 
Added Info

Media 99 Column:
Direct Product Control: Yes
Direct Content Control: Yes
Add-on Items: Yes
Configure add-ons on per product level: Yes
Email broadcasting: Yes Integrated Newsletter: ? not sure
Customer Accounts: Yes


Hope this helps!
 
More about floristboard sites I found out - yes on
stats
SEO platform and setup
dedicated ip
SSL
addons
newsletter email
image gallery
customer account
cust order history
MAS
Mercury

just fyi
 
bloomz said:
More about floristboard sites I found out - yes on
stats
SEO platform and setup
dedicated ip
SSL
addons
newsletter email
image gallery
customer account
cust order history
MAS
Mercury

just fyi
Click to expand...

Thanks, JB.

Gotta correct a couple things, though. FB sites definitely don't have:
SEO platform & setup
SSL in the florist's name
Dedicated IP for the site

I haven't seen an FB site with a gallery - are you sure they have a separate gallery other than the ecommerce part of the site?
 
Beats me - I assumed you were talking about image collections like the TFTD catalogs.

I guess those other things are maybe available on request? I just asked Brian and that's what he told me.
 
Ryan With FTD some features are provided in the Mercury software rather than the web site. An example would be email marketing/newsletters. All FTD FOL web orders are auto sent to Merc for processing so data is there and there is a filter/link to Constant Contact. I like all the features you have in 2.0 Ken
 
Ryan:

Media 99 update:
My cost per order & monthly hosting fee are different than shown

Domain Name: Florist owns it
We have direct product control & content control

As far as I know, my content creation is unlimited (we have a pretty big site, and I know that we are not at max yet).

User generated reviews -- can be added to the site; see our bridal section, for example We prefer to have our user comments sent to us & we add them to the site. :)

We have detailed product management -- can change pricing, description, category it is in, when available, specials, etc at any time

Does have the opportunity to have extensive customization
Allows add-ons
Add-ons can be configured on a per product level

Can manage delivery options (I think)

Does have email broadcast capability -- have not asked about newsletter

Has TF, FTD, JH and FSN images on file -- gets new images all the time and you can upload your own images

Customer can create an address book, order history and a customer account

Integrates directly into FTD, Mercury, Advantage, MAS -- everything except a TF product!!

Not sure about the SEO stuff -- this is probably available -- I am not using it -- yet.

Hope this helps,
Cheryl
 
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KDB said:
Ryan With FTD some features are provided in the Mercury software rather than the web site. An example would be email marketing/newsletters. All FTD FOL web orders are auto sent to Merc for processing so data is there and there is a filter/link to Constant Contact. I like all the features you have in 2.0 Ken
Click to expand...

Thanks, Ken.

You're right - but for the sake of this exercise, comparing site options + POS options + 3rd party services gets way too complicated. We're just comparing the website portion.

That said, I certainly agree that having a website and POS is necessary for florists, and adding 3rd party services to your marketing mix is valuable.

Ryan
 
CHERYL BAKIN said:
Media 99 update:
My cost per order & monthly hosting fee are different than shown

As far as I know, my content creation is unlimited (we have a pretty big site, and I know that we are not at max yet).

Hope this helps,
Cheryl
Click to expand...

Cheryl,

Thanks, that does help.

Couple clarifications:
I'm listing their posted rates - I think we all understand that different people might get different prices from different vendors, all depending on many different circumstances.

You've mentioned that content creation is unlimited, but I don't really see any unique content on your site. Lots of products, but the few content pages contain some duplicated content. Can you add as many pages of content, aside from the products?

Do you have an option for an image gallery? Somewhere to show off special pictures from events, high-end work, shows, etc?

Thanks for your help!

Ryan
 
David said:
Ryan,
It is my understanding that any web site can be interfaced with FTD mercury. The posted rate is $1,000
Click to expand...
I believe that's the module price from FTD - that's what they charge you to have a license key that enables you to receive orders.

That does not cover programming the site to deliver the orders in FTD's specified format.

In other words, it's $1k for the catcher's glove, but you still need a pitcher to throw the ball in the mitt.

Ryan
 
Infinite said:
Thanks, JB.

SEO platform & setup
Click to expand...

So I guess I don't know what this is. Can you explain? It's a feature I've never heard of before.
 
Infinite said:
In other words, it's $1k for the catcher's glove, but you still need a pitcher to throw the ball in the mitt.

Ryan
Click to expand...
Here is some tips fo the Pitcher. FTD Mercury grabs an E-mail I have the complete PDF.
General Requirements
» E-commerce Web site with SMTP capability and symmetric encryption capability.
» A working Internet connection.
» An outgoing SMTP server. You can use FTD’s mail server or your own. This should be set up in
Mercury Administration (see MailServer Screen on page 24–30).
Web Order Interface Web Site Requirements 27–5
» An email address for e-commerce Web orders. The account must be accessible via POP3 or
IMAP protocols from the Internet. If your ISP has any IP restrictions on which addresses are
allowed to communicate with the mail server, then WOI will be unable to pick up these email
messages.
» A separate email address for error reporting. It is recommended that this address use the
same incoming mail server as your e-commerce email address (for example, if your email
address for Web orders is [email protected], it is recommended that your Web site for error
reporting is [email protected]). You do not have to use this email address for error reporting
only (it can be used for personal use as well).
 
David said:
Here is some tips fo the Pitcher. FTD Mercury grabs an E-mail I have the complete PDF.
General Requirements
» E-commerce Web site with SMTP capability and symmetric encryption capability.
» A working Internet connection.
» An outgoing SMTP server. You can use FTD’s mail server or your own. This should be set up in
Mercury Administration (see MailServer Screen on page 24–30).
Web Order Interface Web Site Requirements 27–5
» An email address for e-commerce Web orders. The account must be accessible via POP3 or
IMAP protocols from the Internet. If your ISP has any IP restrictions on which addresses are
allowed to communicate with the mail server, then WOI will be unable to pick up these email
messages.
» A separate email address for error reporting. It is recommended that this address use the
same incoming mail server as your e-commerce email address (for example, if your email
address for Web orders is [email protected], it is recommended that your Web site for error
reporting is [email protected]). You do not have to use this email address for error reporting
only (it can be used for personal use as well).
Click to expand...
David,

Thanks - we have the specs for the web interface. If you have the PDF then you know what I mean about mercury receiving a specially formatted email from the website provider.

For this chart, we're reporting whether or not a provider has the ability to deliver that special email.

Ryan
 
bloomz said:
So I guess I don't know what this is. Can you explain? It's a feature I've never heard of before.
Click to expand...
I've just uploaded a whole list of definitions, but I'll expand on this a bit more.

For a site to rank well it's a big help to have a platform that is designed to be search engine friendly. There are also some key tasks to be performed during and after launch of the site.

Ryan
 
I feel so left out.

Oh well.

But hey some great compasions.

Ryan I think the only thing you are really missing is a way that can literly explain and show each one of these benefits that your florist 2.0 has to offer. I don't think people truly understand that even having a proper way for your customers to do a search of product is also important. I even strugle with this.

I just wish I had this option 4 years ago.

Hey its been 4 years since I started our website!!!!
 
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