Many online retailers become increasingly frustrated by the high rate of customers who abandon their online shopping carts.

The reality is that many online visitors tend to click away from shopping carts, and many online wholesale suppliers and retailers are left wondering exactly why.

Knowledge is power; therefore, if you learn some of the common reasons why a visitor may click away from your shopping cart, you can retain more prospective customers.

Fortunately, many industry studies have been conducted to teach us that the abandonment of ecommerce shopping carts is predictable and often preventable.

Some People Just Aren't Prepared to Buy

It doesn't matter what you do, certain customers enjoy browsing online without the intention of ever actually purchasing a product or service. A woman may be curious about the latest pair of designer jeans she read about in the latest edition of Elle and searched for them online. Retail websites are often much more than merely business venue; they are often research tools, accidental encounters and sources of entertainment.

The majority of visitors who have no intention of buying don't usually place any merchandise in a shopping cart; they prefer to browse the information and product pages. However, some individuals will place items in their carts as a form or online "window shopping." They may want to fantasize about all of the items they desire, even though they don't have the money to actually purchase them.

Many ecommerce sites exploit this common trend by focusing on long-term. Even though a visitor may not be willing to spend any money right now, you can still create a positive experience for them. If they enjoy the experience when they're not buying and they leave your site feeling better informed or entertained, they are much more likely to return when they're ready to spend some money.

5 of the Most Common Shopping Cart Errors

The reasons many prospective customers abandon their shopping carts are often controlled by the merchant who is running the website. The line between a completed sales transaction and an abandoned shopping cart is often very fine. Here are some common mistakes website owners make concerning their ecommerce shopping carts:

1. Don’t place the word "buy" on the button to add products to your site's shopping cart. Many customers are cautious about making an online purchase. They often wan to gather as much information as possible before actually committing to spending their money. Therefore, choose words such as "add to cart" which appear less intimidating.

2. Never call your shopping cart anything else. The majority of online users are very familiar with web terminology. However, they will generally become confused or irritated when they see a shopping cart that you have attempted to cleverly disguise or call a cute name.

3. Allow visitors to add items to your shopping cart without having to register. Requiring registration as soon as visitors arrive at your site will discourage people who never buy, but it will also discourage prospective customers. Online shoppers prefer not to disclose personal information before they have decided on a purchase for the same reason they don't like the "buy" button.

4. Never make a visitor provide you with purchasing information before they know all of the costs. If you require payment information or credit card details before a customer even knows the exact total that will be charged is one of the biggest mistakes online retailers can make. This spells trouble for most people, so make sure you disclose all of the charges including taxes and shipping before you request any payment information.

5. Never force a shopper to perform tasks that can be easily automated with the help of software. Each time you require a visitor to click another button or type information into another field, you risk losing them to a competitor's site. For example, if a customer accidentally places 6 items in their cart, but meant to add only 2, they should not have to reduce the quantity of products to zero in order to remove them. Doing so will often result in frustration and a speedy exit. Make sure visitors can easily remove any unwanted items from their shopping cart with a simple click of a button.

Learning about some of the common mistakes online retailers make with their shopping carts will help you to avoid them. You maintain more control than you may realize when it comes to convincing online shoppers to complete their shopping purchases on your website. Keep in mind the above issues and you'll ensure your visitors keep your ecommerce shopping carts full.

About the Author

Kaplang is a unique design firm that provides quality services for web design, web development, search engine optimization and all other web solutions, visit http://www.kaplang.com for more information.

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Dear friends,

The bloodshed in Gaza is escalating -- the death toll now stands at over 1000 people and rising, almost half of them civilians and over 100 children dead.[1] As Israeli tanks, airplanes and artillery bombard thickly populated urban areas, hitting UN schools yesterday, thousands more have been injured and 1.5 million terrified civilians have no escape from this prison-like enclave -- the borders have been sealed. Hamas continues to fight and fire rockets deep into Israel: 11 Israelis have died, including from friendly fire.

Our worldwide call for an internationally-guaranteed ceasefire to protect civilians on all sides has begun to ring out loud and clear, winning the support of leaders in Europe, the Middle East and beyond: hopeful outlines of a deal are emerging.[2] But Israel is rejecting a truce for now and escalating its offensive, while US President Bush is blocking a negotiated UN ceasefire, trying instead to impose a skewed alternative that could legitimize Israel's suffocating isolation of Gaza.[3]

Enough is enough: these civilian deaths can't go on, and we can't let Bush and co block a fair, negotiated ceasefire. 250,000 of us have signed the ceasefire pe***ion, let's make it half a million -- we'll publish it in a hard-hitting ad in the Washington Post and deliver it in meetings with UN Security Council members -- follow the link below to see the ad, sign the pe***ion, and forward this message to all your friends and family:

http://www.avaaz.org/en/gaza_time_for_peace/98.php?cl_tf_sign=1

Our efforts really can make a difference -- Israel's own foreign minister admits that international pressure, if intense enough, could ensure a ceasefire. As the international community debates and delays, civilians are dying by the day. The top UN official in Gaza says, "There's nowhere safe in Gaza. Everyone here is terrorized and traumatized." Opposing a United Nations resolution, Bush reportedly proposes to exclude Hamas from any ceasefire deal and leave Israel a free hand, something that would guarantee that the violence continues. That's why we're targeting incoming President Obama and US decision-makers, as well as the European Union and other international leaders, to pursue a fair and stable resolution.

To be lasting, a ceasefire must protect civilians and end all attacks -- Israeli bombings and incursions as well as the rockets Palestinian factions fire into southern Israel. International supervision is desperately needed at the borders, to reopen Gaza's borders and crossings for food, fuel, medicine and goods, to prevent weapon-smuggling which has only grown under the blockade, and to monitor and enforce the ceasefire on both sides.[4]

Hamas, which won elections in 2006 and now runs Gaza, suggests it will agree to such a ceasefire.[5] It should be challenged to live up to its word just like Israel. There is no military solution for either side -- it's time for world powers to step in, advancing a fair deal to protect civilians on all sides and let them live their lives in peace and security. Sign the pe***ion now at the link below and send this message to everyone you know -- we'll publish it in The Washington Post and elsewhere, and seek face-to-face meetings to deliver the pe***ion with the Obama team, the UN Security Council and European leaders:

http://www.avaaz.org/en/gaza_time_for_peace/98.php?cl_tf_sign=1

With hope and determination,

Paul, Graziela, Ricken, Luis, Alice, Brett, Ben, Iain, Paula, Veronique, Milena and the whole Avaaz team

P.S. We wrote to European, US and Arab leaders last week about our campaign, and received several responses -- now we need to escalate the pressure. For a report on many of Avaaz's other campaigns so far, see: https://secure.avaaz.org/en/report_back_2

Sources:

1. ***ociated Press: "Israel S****s Near UN School, ****ing at least 30" (5 January 2009)
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5ioi_0jtO9RjMwPNRoXNCndRPRq3gD95HTJE00

2. "Gaza: outlines of an endgame", Gh***an Khatib (6 January 2009)
http://www.opendemocracy.net/article/gaza-outlines-of-an-endgame

Al-Jazeera: "Arab ministers hold UN ceasefire talks" (6 January 2009):
http://english.aljazeera.net/news/americas/2009/01/20091522052418539.html

***ociated Press: "Diplomats seek truce as civilian toll rises" (5 January 2009):
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5ioi_0jtO9RjMwPNRoXNCndRPRq3gD95HCD4G3

3. Israel Today: "Israel rejects European, UN efforts for immediate ceasefire" (5 January 2009):
http://www.israeltoday.co.il/default.aspx?tabid=178&nid=17938

Yediot Aharonot: "Israel examining international treaty to isolate Hamas" (5 January 2009)
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3650522,00.html

4. These parameters are advocated by a broad range of experts and policymakers. See for example International Crisis Group's Ending the War in Gaza report (5 January 2009):
http://www.crisisgroup.org/home/index.cfm?id=5838&l=1

5. Reuters: "Hamas seeks truce but says lifting siege a must" (5 January 2009) http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/L5111105.htm

Strikingly, the US Army War College has just released a substantial report supporting the view that Hamas can and must be brought into negotiations and is capable of sustaining a long-term truce, or even peace with Israel. Linked via:
http://ricks.foreignpolicy.com/node/10703

The inside story of the civil strife between Fatah and Hamas and the Bush administration's involvement in this debacle is best-told in The Gaza Bombs****, an investigative article published in the leading US magazine Vanity Fair in April 2008:
http://www.vanityfair.com/politics/features/2008/04/gaza200804

This news item from November 2008 provides more background to the story of how the Israel-Hamas truce collapsed:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2008/nov/05/israelandthepalestinians


ABOUT AVAAZ
Avaaz.org is an independent, not-for-profit global campaigning organization that works to ensure that the views and values of the world's people inform global decision-making. (Avaaz means "voice" in many languages.) Avaaz receives no money from governments or corporations, and is staffed by a global team based in Ottawa, London, Rio de Janeiro, New York, Buenos Aires, and Geneva. Call us at: +1 888 922 8229 or +55 21 2509 0368

Click here to learn more about our largest campaigns.

Don't forget to check out our Facebook and Myspace and Bebo pages!

How To Whitelist Bloghology Social Network, from:  members@bloghology.org in your Spam Filter.

Since your ISP or email delivery service email client probably uses some type of spam filter we ask that you add us to your trusted list of senders, contacts or address book. All also known as whitelisting.

AOL
Yahoo
Hotmail Live, Windows Live and MSN
Gmail
Earthlink
AT&T
Comcast
Outlook 2003
Cloudmark SpamNet:
Mailblocks:
MailShield:
MailWasher:
McAfee Spamkiller:
oddpost:
SpamAssassin:
SpamButcher:
Spameater Pro:
Spam Inspector:
Spam Interceptor:
SpamPal:
Spam Sleuth:
Other providers:

AOL

To make sure email gets delivered to your AOL inbox, you must add the email address or corporate domain of the sender to your Address Book or Custom Sender List.

1. Click the "Spam Controls" link on the lower right side of your inbox screen.
2. When the "Mail & Spam Controls" box appears, click the "Custom sender list" link.
3. Choose the "allow email from members@bloghology.org option.
4. Add the domain or email address you would like to receive mail from, then click "Add"
5. Click "Save"

AOL Web Mail

If using AOL web mail replying to an email from Bloghology Social Network will also work.

Email from that domain will now be delivered straight to your Inbox.

Yahoo! Mail

If you're not receiving email at you are expecting, there are two things you can do:

1. Use the "Not Spam" button in your Bulk folder.
2. Create a filter to automatically send email from certain domains to your Inbox. This is the only way to really ensure delivery.

   Report as "Not Spam"

   1. - Check your Yahoo! Bulk folder
   2. - If you see the Bloghology Social Network, highlight it and click "Not Spam"
   3. - This does not guarantee that your mail will be delivered in the future, but it does help.

   Create a Filter

   1. Click "Options" in the top right navigation bar
   2. Select "Mail Options" from the list that drops down
   3. Choose "Filters" located on the left side of the page
   4. Click the "Add" button on the Filters page
   5. Choose the field you want to match in the incoming message. For example, "header" or "to".
   6. Choose the criterion by which you want a match to be made, such as "contains"
   7. Enter the text string to compare. For example: members@bloghology.org
   8. Choose the destination folder to which you would like the message delivered. For example: Inbox

Hotmail Live, Windows Live and MSN

In the new Hotmail you must "Mark sender as safe" to enable hyperlinks even in text emails and images in HTML emails.

Entering the email contact in the address book or contacts no longer whitelists the sender

To ensure messages from specific email addresses are not sent to your Junk Email folder, you can do one of two things:

1. Check the "Junk" folde if you do not see the Bloghology Social Network in your inbox
2. Click the "Mark as safe" link
3. Add members@bloghology.org to your Safe List

   Mark Sender as Safe

   Attachments, pictures, and links in this message have been blocked for your safety. Show content

   Bloghology Social Network getEmail() members@bloghology.org - Bloghology Social Network

   From: members@bloghology.org You may not know this sender. Mark as safe | Mark as unsafe
   Sent: Fri 12/19/08 3:00 PM
   Reply-to: members@bloghology.org

 

1. Click "Show content" to view the body of the email if it contains images and HTML
2. Click "Mark as safe"
3. Bloghology Social Network will now be added to your list of "Safe senders"

Manually Add to Safe List

1. Click "Options" in the upper right corner of your Hotmail screen
2. In the Body of the page under "Junk e-mail" click the link "Safe and blocked senders"
3. Click the link "Safe senders"
4. Enter the email address " members@bloghology.org"
5. Click "Add to list"

Gmail

To make sure email gets delivered to your inbox, you must add the email address members@bloghology.org to your contacts list.

1. Click the drop down arrow next to "Reply" in the upper righht side of your inbox screen.
2. Click the "Add Bloghology Social Network to Contacts List" from the list that appears.
3. You will now see Bloghology Social Network appear under the "Quick Contacts" list on the left side of the page.

Outlook 2003

Because of the various email platforms that can work with Outlook, it is tricky to tell you how to recieve all email to your Outlook inbox. We can tell you, however, how to make sure you can see all the emails you receive as they were intended to be seen - with images. If a company is not in your address book or "Safe Sender" list, your HTML images will not display.

To have HTML display correctly, users can:

1. Change their automatic download settings
2. Add your email or domain to their approved sender list

   To change settings:

   1. Right click on a non-displaying image in an HTML email
   2. Choose "Change automatic download settings" option
   3. When the popup comes up, uncheck the first box in the list that says "don't download pictures or other HTML content automatically
   4. Click "OK"

   To add domain to safe sender list:

   1. Right click on a non-displaying image in an HTML email
   2. Choose "Add the domain to the safe sender list" option

Earthlink

If you are not receiving email at Earthlink, there are two actions you can take.

1. Check "Suspect Email" folder
2. Add bloghology.org to your address book

With Earthlink, if you have SpamBlocker turned on, suspect messages are automatically send to your Suspect Email folder if the domain is not in your address book.

Suspect Email Folder

1. While in the "Suspect Email" folder, if you see members@bloghology.org...
2. Select the "Move to Inbox and Add Contact" option from the pull down menu.
3. This will add bloghology.org to your Address Book for future email delivery assurance.

Address Book Inclusion

1. Open the email.
2. Click "Add to Address Book" in the email header.
3. Use the "Address Book Editor" to verify the sender's contact details and click "save."
4. Fill in getEmail() members@bloghology.org as the email address of the sender.
5. Any mail sent with the same domain (right of the @ sign) will now be delivered to your Inbox.

AT&T

1. Open the email message from the sender you want to add to your address book.
2. Click on the "Save Address" link (below) next to the "From Address.
3. Check the "Add to Contacts" box (below) and click "Save.

Comcast

1. Click on the [Save Address] link at the top of this message (it's next to From Address).
2. For the field titled First Name, please enter Bloghology Social Network
3. Then click Save Entry and you're all done.

CleanMyMailbox:

If Bloghology Social Network is filtered, from the spambox, click on the white "W" icon on the left column of the mailing. When the pop-up window comes up, simply click the Add to Whitelist button.

Alternative whitelisting methods:

1. Click on the White List button.
2. Add: members@bloghology.org to the bottom of your existing list.
3. Click the Submit List button.

1. Click the Subject White List button.
2. Add: Filter Course to the bottom of the list on a line by itself.
3. Click the Submit List button.

Cloudmark SpamNet:

1. Select Cloudmark | Options... from the Cloudmark SpamNet toolbar in Outlook.
2. Click Advanced.
3. Go to the Whitelist tab.
4. Click the Add button.
5. Type: members@bloghology.org
6. Click OK.
7. Click OK.
8. Click Yes.
9. Click OK.

Mailblocks:

1. Click the Addresses tab.
2. Click New.
3. Type: members@bloghology.org
4. Make sure 'Accept Mail From This Address' is selected under Receiving Options.
5. Uncheck 'Display in People Picker' under Other options.
6. Click Submit.
7. Click OK.

MailShield:

1. Click Friends from the toolbar.
2. Click Add.
3. Type: members@bloghology.org
4. Click OK.

MailWasher:

1. Click Tools, then Blacklist & Friends.
2. Click Add... on the right, the Friends list side.
3. Make sure Plain email address is selected.
4. Type: members@bloghology.org
5. Click OK.
6. Click OK.

McAfee Spamkiller:

1. Click Friends from the sidebar.
2. Click Add.
3. Type: members@bloghology.org
4. Click OK.

Oddpost:

1. Check your 'Probably Spam' folder.
2. If you see that Spam Filter Crash Course was incorrectly filtered out
3. Select it Click the 'Move to Inbox and Mark as Not Spam' button.

SpamAssassin:

1. Add the following entry to your user_prefs file, which is found in the .spamassassin subdirectory on your web/mail server
2. whitelist_from members@bloghology.org
3. Save the user_prefs file or move the updated copy to your .spamassassin subdirectory.

If you have no user_prefs file in this subdirectory, create one: http://spamassassin.taint.org/doc/Mail_SpamAssassin_Conf.html
more instructions http://www.cleanmymailbox.com/sa

SpamButcher:

1. Click the Configure button.
2. Go to the Known Senders tab.
3. Click Add under 'Known Good Senders and Recipients'.
4. Type: members@bloghology.org
5. Click OK.
6. Click OK.

Spameater Pro:

1. Click Filters from the sidebar.
2. Click the Approved Senders tab.
3. Click Add Filter.
4. Type: members@bloghology.org under Address.
5. Choose 'Full Email Address' under Address Type.
6. Select Email Domain.
7. Click OK.

Spam Inspector:

1. Select Spam Inspector
2. Then 'Manage Friends List' from either the Spam Inspector toolbar or from the Outlook menu.
3. Make sure Email is selected under 'Add a New Friend'.
4. Type: members@bloghology.org
5. Click the >> button.
6. Click Close.

Spam Interceptor:

1. Follow the Trusted link under > Authentication Lists.
2. Enter the email address: members@bloghology.org
3. Click Add.

SpamPal:

1. Click on the SpamPal system tray icon with the right mouse button.
2. Click 'Add to Whitelist' from the menu.
3. Type: members@bloghology.org
4. Click Add.

Spam Sleuth:

1. Select File, then Configure.
2. Go to the Friends category.
3. Make sure Active is checked.
4. Type: members@bloghology.org on a line by itself in the entry field.
5. Click OK.

Other Spam Filters Not List Above....

If Bloghology Social Network is being filtered, try adding members@bloghology.org to your Address Book or Contact list.

If messages continue to be sent to you junk folder contact support for the application and ask how to whitelist members@bloghology.org.

It has been long since we all went to Christmas and New Year Celebrations and now we are back with even more exciting news for all of your Bloghology Social members.

Starting from Today we will be adding more applications that we help you all on various ways.

1. Applications & Widgets

Applications & Widgets will allow our users to enjoy from exciting level of personalization for profile, user home or other pages.  Together with attractive and modern drag & drop interface our Bloghology Social users can add widgets or applications to their profile and express their own creativity. Easy editing / reordering of Top Bar Menu is one of the built-in features.  Home page editor extension will allow our members to easily edit their website homepage, change layout, add “new blogs”, “latest/popular groups”, photos, polls, events.

Applications to be added

• Virtual Gifts - The Virtual Gifts Application will allow our users to express themselves and engage in social interaction. Gifts will be free or priced by points or even real money.
• Twitter - Users can opt-in to auto-update their twitter when changing Bloghology Social status. Users can update twitter from within Bloghology Social Network.  Also twitter can be added to profile/user home or any other page.
• Last.fm - Adding music on your profile page for entertaining your viewers.
• Flickr Photostream - Members can import their Flickr Photostream and tag them within their profile page
• Upgrade of the RSS Feeds - Members can subscribe on other members RSS Feeds and Also import any other RSS Feed to their profile. ex import your Blogs RSS Feed or any other RSS Feed you may think that your Bloghology Social Friends would like to read.
• Google Map - For displaying your Events within the Google Map
• My Favorites
• Better Newsfeed - Users can choose what they want to see after login. ex Network News. Friends News, Status Updates, New Photos added and New Comments Posted  
• Friends Online (for user home)
• Top Friends
• Mutual Friends (for profile page)
• Tom Friend - similar to MySpace

2. SuperPages.

Superpages Section will allow our community users to create dynamic pages with unprecedented level of flexibility. Users can create virtually any page using modern drag&drop interface, add content blocks - comments, html, photo or applications like google map or twitter. Start from blank, add HTML (wysiwyg), add comments - 2 seconds and you have an interactive web presence.

 Features:

• Modern drag&drop design, easily add content
• Password Protect page
• Users can add and remove widgets and apps from browseable directory to the page
• Easy switching between various layouts for superpage
• Page HTML Box - WYSIWYG Editor for html content

We hope that this year we can make Bloghology Social Network stand out with your expectations and create applicatiosn that can result into a time saver for the Blogosphere and its users.

Good luck within your Goal Settings and lets make all together this year a better one

PS. You may share it below and tweet us as well if you like the new applications/widgets and superpages

Please PARTICIPATE!!! by contributing to Bloghology Printed/Digital and Bloghology Social Network

Bloghology wants to be clear that WE ARE ACCEPTING UNSOLICITED ORIGINAL WRITING/CONTENT!!!

Please submit your blog Posts here

We are looking to publish your articles on Blogging, SEO, Fitness, How to articles, metnoring programs reviews etc. To better get an idea of what we are looking for have a look at Bloghology Social Blog Section

When submitting content for publishing, please choose the right category or Choose to create a new One. You can also submit your trackbacks.

Unfortunately, we cannot possibly promise to publish everything that (or even most of what) we receive. However, we would greatly appreciate all submissions nonetheless and we'll make every effort review and include as much content from the Bloghology Social Community as possible.

*All original material submitted must be properly cited.

We are most likely to publish content (related to the Blogosphere) that we see as reflective of progressive, radical or, otherwise, left leaning points of view that are not receiving the proper attention in the dominant m*** media and entertainment outlets.

We won’t be able to edit submissions, so we ask that you submit final drafts with your suggested headline.


Thanks!