ACE4IT

If you’re familiar with bluegrass music, then you’re tuned in to some of what Greensky Bluegrass does. This quintet from Michigan has been staying up late at all the coolest festivals and stopping to play your favorite clubs and theaters across America for 11 years now.

Greensky Bluegrass has recently launched a new website! Check it out at GreenskyBluegrass.com

The site has been completely renovated with a brand new look and the following new features:

• Interactive media featuring the latest released tracks
• “Store” page integrated with paypal
• “Band” page featuring band member photos
• “Media” page with more band pics and latest videos
• More easily navigable and user-friendly

Contact ACE to do your band website!

You may have noticed that the online version of the Bell’s General Store has been undergoing some major renovations over the last few weeks.

Not only has the store been given a face-lift, but the entire site has been redesigned from the bottom up.

“It’s now more secure. Processing orders is faster and overall, it’s a more pleasant and modern shopping experience,” said Drew Bell, General Store Online Manager.

The website debuted in 2001 and hasn’t had a major update like this in at least four years.

Drew and Adam Stubbs of Advantage Communication Enterprises, a Kalamazoo based web development company, have been planning and developing this latest overhaul for the last year-and-a-half.

“This is an ongoing process. We will continue to make improvements over the next few months and beyond to make sure our customers have the best possible experience. We want to make sure it’s hassle free, that customers get a good price, they are happy with their purchases and they get them on time,” said Drew.

Some of the new features include:

• Faster image and page loading
• Improved site search and navigation: The search tool will offer suggestions with images to help you quickly find what you are looking for.
• Sharable wish lists: Add as much as you like and share with your friends and families. Use them for holidays, birthdays, and more.
• Additional account management tools and easier tracking: Manage multiple shipping and billing addresses, view your order status and track it from home as well.
• New Bell’s saver shipping and free shipping on select items: Choose the most economical and preferred shipping method while saving money.
• Up to date information pages: Stay current on return and exchange policies – quick and easy.

The Bell’s online store will also start accepting additional payment methods including Master Card, VISA and Discover soon. Gift cards that will be redeemable online, in person at both the General Store, 355 E. Kalamazoo Ave. in downtown Kalamazoo, or at the adjoining Eccentric Café will also be available in the next few months as well.

Explore the redesigned website here.

Contact ACE for your e-commerce needs today!

4 Oneworld is a local Kalamazoo non-profit organization who’s aim is to raise awareness locally and provide aid to disadvantaged children in the developing world.

It’s time for their annual Live Music Fundraiser and we hope you are able to join in the supporting this great organization! This year, it will be held on October 9th at Martini’s Pizza in downtown Kalamazoo.  One of our favorite local bands, Funktion, a silent auction with local and African art, and delicious hors d’oeuvres by Martini’s are sure to make this a great evening to eat, drink, and support an awesome local charity!

Hope to see you there!

Every 15 seconds, a child dies from a water-borne disease. 4,500 children die every day because they do not have access to clean drinking water. Clean Water for the World is a local Kalamazoo organization whose aim is to end this problem one water filtration system at a time.

The new site has been integrated with Concrete5, making it much easier to make edits to the site or update the site with upcoming fundraising events. The following additional features have been added to the site:

• Interactive map showing all the parts of the world that Clean Water for the World has reached
• More easily navigable
• Social networking integration

Check out the new site to find out how YOU can help end water-borne illness around the world.

Contact ACE to kick-start your non-profit organization today!

Crescendo Academy of Music has recently updated their website!

Crescendo Academy of Music offers private and group instruction in instrumental and vocal music from highly-qualified teachers and performers in Southwest Michigan. The academy provides opportunities for performances in a variety of local venues, lessons in music theory and composition, chamber ensembles and a nationally recognized early childhood music program. Pre-school children through adults over the age of seventy are active in Crescendo’s programs.

Features of the new website, developed by ACE, include:

• WordPress Template Customization & Programming
• Social Networking Integration
• Ability to accept online donations through PayPal
• Online class registration system with payments via PayPal

Come see the new site today!

Local Kalamazoo wedding photographer, Jeff Mitchell, has launched a new website at PhotoMitch.com!

The new site, developed by ACE, has been integrated with a content management system, Concrete5, which allows for users to easily edit their website with the very user-friendly interface. PhotoMitch.com has a brand new look, is much easier to navigate, and has a full photo gallery obtained from the Concrete5 Marketplace:  ACE can obtain off-the-shelf add-ons and plugins for Content Management Systems and customize them for your needs.

Consider Jeff Mitchell for your wedding photography!

Contact ACE today for your website needs!

• Concrete5 Upgrade
• Google Calendar Integration
• “Home Grown” hosting
• PayPal Integration for Membership Payment
• FluxBB Integration: Bulletin Board/Discussion Forum for Recording Meeting Minutes, Discussing Issues Relating to Medical Marijuana, and Connecting Patients and Caregivers

Come see the new website today!

Kalamazoo Sportswear announces the launch of its new website, WMUOnline.com, which is Western Michigan University’s official online merchandise retailer. The new site is designed with a fresh user-friendly experience and an impactful presentation of merchandise.

The primary goal of the web development was to deliver an e-commerce website for WMUOnline.com with increased functionality and a new look.

The new website, developed by ACE, boasts the following new features:

Upgraded shopping cart to Interspire Shopping Cart

• Improved SEO for better search rankings
• Marketing products on Google Shopping
• Better product searching
• Ability to market related products

Home page upgrades:

• Improved homepage with product carousel
• Photograph slideshow
• Icon fish eye navigation

Navigation upgrades:

• Improved category navigation with CoverFlow and better product images
• Image zoom on product pages

Come check it out!  WMUOnline.com

Since 2010, we have been using Interspire Shopping Cart for our clients and we want tell about what it can do for your business.

Interspire provides a very powerful licensed shopping cart solution that has been driving merchant success for many years. For many merchants, Interspire’s licensed shopping cart provides all of the features necessary to run a successful online store in an easy to use package. Unlike many licensed shopping carts, Interspire is very easy to customize and doesn’t require any knowledge of code to make a storefront unique and fully functional.

The software package includes everything you’ll need to create, run, market and profit from your online e-commerce venture. Here’s a breakdown of some of our features included in Interspire Shopping Cart:

If you like the sound of this, you may also be interested in BigCommerce, which is Interspire’s hosted Shopping Cart.  Here is a list of the pros and cons of using the hosted software:

Pros:

• “Pay as you go” month-to-month
• No hardware or software management required
• Receive automatic software updates and features
• Free Trial

Cons:

• Limited features and # of allowed products or users based on package level
• Higher cost over time: $1800 for the “Ultimate License” of non-hosted Interspire, versus $300/month for “Diamond” hosted equivalent
• Inability to customize server settings for other parts of your website, e.g. host a shopping cart and a Content Management System

Contact ACE today to find out how we can help you integrate this great tool into your business!