10 Best Design has recently selected the top ten best Magento web design firms, and candidates have been awarded for their excellence in the applying leading e-commerce software solutions.

Coming in at number one is Blue Fountain Media, a NYC-based company that provides innovative e-commerce services. The firm works with large corporations and determines to create cost-effective online stores for small businesses.

Blue Fountain Media employs in-house developers who understand the advantages of Magento hosting technology for launching e-commerce sites. The content management system of this platform is customized according to the specific niche of clients. For example, Blue Fountain Mountain Media employs graphic designers who can polish up the aesthetic features of an online store. On the back-end, programmers can optimize Magento hosting to run smoothly without any downtime. A lot of web hosting configurations are done by Blue Fountain Media in order to ensure that online stores can be supported properly. This Manhattan-based agency also uses its experience in online marketing to launch effective advertising campaigns on Magento websites. If necessary, the modules in this open source platform can be customized with pre-loaded search engine optimization tools.

Coming in at number two is Big Drop Inc. Also based in New York, Big Drop Inc specializes in creating websites by maximizing the capability of Magento hosting. Online stores are swiftly created with powerful tools for web developers as well as merchants. Big Drop Inc will ensure that clients know how to manage their own stores via control modules. Additionally, Big Drop Inc offers technical support for web hosting, which is an essential component of Magento solutions.

Big Drop Inc can sign up clients for various types of Magento packages that cater to specific niche markets. The experienced developers can then help merchants find the best e-commerce packages at affordable prices that can’t be matched by any other open source platforms.

If you’ve been to our 404 page, you might have seen the picture of this cute little puppy here. His name is Duke, and he’s our official office mascot.

Not many offices in New York have their own awesome Yorkie to play with, but we do. Duke is actually smart enough to develop websites himself, but instead he chooses to sleep all day in his office, and he only programs when he feels like it. Sometimes he doesn’t even let the humans do their jobs, because he’s constantly barking, or playing at our feet. In fact, one time he even jumped on top of one of our content writers’ desks and started replacing all his work on the keyboard. The text looked like this:

“fffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffff”

Which made us all start thinking that maybe Duke had some anger issues, and we had to take him to a psychiatrist… But since then, he hasn’t acted up all that badly. He mostly just keeps to himself, and sleeps in his bed. Sometimes he eats way too much dog food. But he’s a cool dog to hang with, even though he doesn’t speak English, and he’s not very educated in matters of politics and fine dining…

Yes, he’s actually very American in terms of his perspective on life sometimes. Sometimes it doesn’t mesh too well with an office full of geniuses… But he’s still young, and we can still teach him the finer points of life in due time, like a meal at Red Lobster… (That is where upper class dogs eat, right?)

If you want to learn more about Duke, his life, his hobbies, and his secret love life, please follow him on his very own Instagram, World’s Friendliest Dog… Speaking of which, we should bug him to update it.

In today’s world, a good technical support plan is an absolute necessity for maintaining day-to-day business operations. The problem is, you can’t get a good plan if you don’t know what kind of plan you need. So you hire an expert… Someone who knows the deal, tech-wise.

In a  previous blog post, we mentioned some of our previous services that we offer extended support for all of our products and services. We’ll mention here once again that a 24/7 help desk is not something that you’ll find in any business… So if you’re looking for strong technical support, consider that a huge plus.

But Why Do I Need Technical Support Again?

You know that having technical support is awesome, but what makes it awesome?

For one thing, it helps increase sales. If your team is providing user-friendly assistance (like our team at Hara Partners is always doing), customers are more likely to stick around and purchase more of the customers’ services. So there’s definitely an upside to being friendly and technical. Nobody wants to deal with a rude gus after all…

Another key benefit is a quick resolution to issues. We’re on the phone constantly with business owners who have no idea how to fix issues that come quickly to us.

“What’s going on with my Magento? It’s not processing my @%$! orders!”

So the business owner continues to bang his head against the wall, but we tell him, “Dude… It’s really just 2 + 2 to us.”

“2 + 2?” he asks. “2 + 2 is easy… Okay, you Hara Partners rascals seem to know what you’re doing.”

And all of a sudden, quick resolution is offered to the business owner and his issues magically disappear… One man’s burden becomes another’s good fortune. And the business owner realizes once and for all that a strong technical support plan is essential to his business.

You might noticed that in some of our solutions pages that we offer extensive support for all of our products and services. Our Monthly Managed Magento Support Services easily differentiate us from most Magento companies because we’ll be on call with you 24/7.

Managed Magento Support

Managed Support Services from Hara Partners provides coverage in three important arenas: Issue management, issue prevention and strategic planning, and site set-up/optimization.

Issue Management

Included with Hara Partners Managed Magento Support services is a 24/7/365 Help desk with phone, email and ticket support, so we are never out of reach. Additionally, we provide a daily report outlining any issues that have occurred or might occur so you always informed and part of the decision making process.

Issue Prevention and Strategic Planning:

Once your store is up and running in peak condition we can assess your risk factors and start taking measures to mitigate or prevent any issues. We’ll monitor your site’s uptime and performance so any issues are addressed promptly as well as using our proprietary site–auditing software Health Check to unearth any underlying issues with your site’s code so they can be addressed before causing any harm.

Set-up/Optimization Services:

Hara Partners’ team of Magento experts will make sure that you are getting the absolute maximum from Magento. Starting with the internal – we’ll review your core architecture and configuration settings – through to your back-end – importing and exporting and getting your reporting set-up – to the external – with branding and design assistance and SEO services – we’ll get your store in tip-top shape.

Features:

• 24/7/365 Help desk with email and ticket support.
• Emergency Services: outage recovery, debugging, trouble-shooting.
• Uptime and performance monitoring for systems, applications and infrastructure.
• Real-time and historical site availability and performance statistics.
• Set-up and configurations.
• Import/export, merchandising and promotion.
• Content uploading and formatting.
• Reporting and analytics.
• Magento administrative configuration.
• Daily reporting.
• Live monitoring of high risk issues.

If you’ve been to our solutions page, you might have noticed that we offer a lot of integrations. Our top-prized solution is the NetSuite-Magento Connector… Everyone at Times Square knows about that one.

But here at Hara Partners, our geniuses never stop integrating technology.

Introducing Magento Profitmaker Integration… The complete order management, customer service and accoutning package, that will integrate seamlessly into every facet of your promotional products distributor operation.

Read below for some of the benefits of our Magento Profitmaker Connector.

System Benefits

• Quick access to Customer History
• Ease of Order Entry (Quote – Order – Invoice)
• Useful Open Order Reports
• Ease of Order Entry/Repeat Orders
• Easy processing of wearable orders
• Integration with ASITransact (reduce phone calls regarding status of order)
• Integration with ESP (Start Quote in ESP / Create Order in ProfitMaker®)
• Flexible Reporting

The process starts with complete audit trails capturing every last detail about every order placed to a fully customized order logic. Magento Morin Logistic Integration can support every default scenario. And if you have special order requirements, our expert staff can consult with you and help ensure all information is captured and communicated correctly.

Software Support

Training Opportunities
We offer numerous training possibilities, from CD’s, online training, regional seminars to training at your business or at our office. Every week, our classroom is in session with companies visiting from all over the country.
Forms & Supplies
Complete line of laser forms designed specifically for use with ASICS software.
Special Programming
Originally custom written programs for a few specific customers that are now available for all customers using ASI Computer Systems software.
Third Party Software
Additional software compatible with or and/or integrated into your ASICS software.
Support Agreement
The most effective solutions to help you get the most from your ASI Computer System.

To learn more, check out the

Magento Profitmaker Integration page.

How is the banking industry responding to the rapid development of online commerce?

Many banks in e-commerce are beginning to deliver credit and deposit their products electronically, as well.

Some large banks are also developing products designed exclusively for e-commerce.

As banks venture into the electronic arena, however, they are finding that new opportunities bring new operational and strategic risks.

Many companies are embracing “e-commerce,” or business conducted on-line over computer networks, as a means of expanding markets, improving customer service, reducing costs, and enhancing productivity.

Like other companies, banks are taking steps to expand the use of networking technology in their business operations. For these institutions, however, the advent of
electronic commerce poses questions as well as opportunities.
Our analysis of banks’ entry into e-commerce includes
a look at the strategic and operational risks banks may
face in this arena. E-commerce will create new forms of
competition and compel banks to make choices about the
services they offer, the size of their branch networks, and
the extent of their support for interbank payment networks.

Participation in e-commerce will also increase
banks’ exposure to technological problems. Banks’ success
in coping with such challenges will help determine the
scale of their influence in the electronic marketplace.

Advantages of Banks in E-Commerce

In the last few years, many banks have begun to use the Internet as a supplementary channel for delivering traditional products to consumers and businesses. Some banks are also investigating how they might expand their current service offerings to include some products designed exclusively for e-commerce.

Issuing Electronic Money and Electronic Checks. Two
e-commerce products still in the planning stage are
electronic money and electronic checks. As more computers
become equipped with “smart card” readers, banks are
considering issuing electronic money that could be stored
on these cards and spent over the Internet. In addition, a
banking technology organization is working with the
U.S. Treasury and some banks to test an electronic
version of a paper check. The check could be sent over
the Internet from a buyer to a seller, electronically
endorsed by the seller, and then forwarded on-line to
the seller’s bank for electronic collection from the
buyer’s bank.

The Magento EDI Connector hooks you into any EDI VAN (Value Added Network) seamlessly in real-time.

Getting started with EDI is easy and you can soon be sending order and shipping information more effectively and efficiently. Using Hara Partners’ Magento EDI Connector can speed up the process tremendously and get you going in just a few days.

EDI is a service sold by businesses that optimizes the efficiency, reliability, and reach of your supply chain.

EDI allows you to connect with your entire trading community no matter where they’re located.

By managing and maintaining its own hosted EDI network infrastructure, an EDI service provider offers feature-rich services including Hosted Transition services, AS2, security, accounting, web administrative tools, and more public and private connections than any other EDI.

EDI started in the early 1980s by implementing Accredited Standards Committee (ASC) X12 standards. EDI communications is transmitted through networks called VANs (Value Added Networks). EDI was standardized by the NIST in 1996, at which point it was already somewhat outdated with the rise of the Internet.

Simply put, EDI provides a standardized way of exchanging documents and confirming the receipt of such documents. Most EDI communication happens between suppliers and retailers, and it’s widely used by large retailers to standardize and streamline their operations. EDI is capable of communicating shipment information including what time to expect a truck on a loading doc, with the receiver able to confirm the scheduling.

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Do you need to be EDI compliant with your retail trading partners? If so, Magento EDI by Logicbroker is designed to seamlessly connect your Magento store with your retail trading partners for full automation. EDI purchase orders are received and automatically created as orders within Magento.

Magento EDI is provided exclusively for customers that have an active service subscription and account. If you are interested in more information, please visit our page, EDI for Magento.

Logicbroker leverages the Magento API to simplify the integration, and delivers an end-to-end EDI solution. This enables smooth communication with trading partners and the ability to meet both trading partner and industry requirements. Integrating Magento and logicbroker eliminates the need to re-key order information, which saves time and reduces errors.

We partner with a Tier 1 EDI provider, and can deliver an unbeatable price that’s leagues beyond most deals available. Please contact us for a price quote.