Date: Mon, 12 Nov 2012 23:39:41 -0500
Reply-To: The Bus Depot <vanagon@BUSDEPOT.COM>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: The Bus Depot <vanagon@BUSDEPOT.COM>
Subject: Re: busdepot
In-Reply-To: <1352778186.90407.YahooMailNeo@web122006.mail.ne1.yahoo.com>
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> Is busdepot under new management?
> New website not as good as the old?
> Was there some change in the business?
Same management, new website. The old infrastructure was so ancient that we
could not even find a web host to support it anymore. After more than a
decade (an eternity in tech years) it was basically being held together by
rubber bands and shoestrings. We were living on borrowed time and had to
retire it before it crashed and burned. The new one is much more modern and
robust, and incorporates a lot of functionality that was suggested by list
members. Among these ...
- the ability to check order history, status, and tracking numbers online
- the ability to save your vehicle so the site defaults to parts that fit it
each time you log in
- the ability to save a credit card number instead of entering it each time
- Also about 10,000 more images and 30,000 more products.
That being said, the transition has not been easy. Merging databases and
point-of-sale systems has been an absolute nightmare. I have been working
60-70 hours a week since the new site launched. We're literally working on
it day by day. Today alone, the left navigation pane changed three times as
we tested minor changes and then rolled some of them back because of this or
that minor bug. We got USPS tracking numbers updating online, but FedEx is
still working with us to figure out why their tracking numbers aren't
updating. And so on. On the other hand, the old site had no tracking
numbers, no order history, 30k less products, 10k fewer images, and a much
longer lag between updates. So while we've got a long way to go, we've also
made a lot of headway.
I am pretty happy with the basic layout - the SEARCH and BROWSE tabs, the
links up top to diagrams, etc. I also have a lot of other improvements in
store once the basics are just right. Like anything new there's a learning
curve, but I think once you try it a few times you'll find it pretty
intuitive. But if you disagree, or have any suggestions or comments at all
(good or bad), please let me know!. Ultimately this needs to be YOUR
website. I am determined to keep tweaking it until I get it right.
- Ron Salmon
The Bus Depot, Inc.
www.busdepot.com
(215) 234-VWVW
_____________________________________________
Toll-Free for Orders by PART # : 1-866-BUS-DEPOT
