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Your Store Build It! Options

SiteSell created Store Build It! (StBI!) as a uniquely easy and inexpensive way for SBIers to add ShopSite to their sites. However, only a very small number of SBIers (about 1%) use StBI!. The cost of reprogramming StBI! to accommodate ShopSite upgrades would have made StBI! unaffordable for many SBIers.

So we started looking for a new way to make stores available to the SBIers who need one while keeping SBI! (our core) affordable for all SBIers. Infin It! lets us do that.

This means that we will no longer be offering StBI! to new SBIers. And for those who already have an StBI! store, Infin It! offers many options for switching to another ShopSite host or starting a new store with a different system and host.

There are three options to choose from regarding your StBI! store...

1. You can replace Store Build It! and use Infin It! to plug in any store that will work with Infin It! (ex., the store modules in cPanel at BlueHost -- our recommended blog, forum and file storage host -- or any other hosting service that will accept the way Infin It! works). See this help article for more on store systems that work with Infin It!. This may be your best option if you have a small store and find LexiConn's hosting costs too expensive.

2. You can stick with ShopSite and upgrade to a more recent version and/or a higher level (ex., from Starter to Pro). We've worked out a deal with LexiConn for a smooth transition at a discounted price. There may be other ShopSite hosts that accept the way Infin It! works, but we're very impressed with Lexiconn and we've worked out how to make this transition as smooth as possible for you.

   You can stick with ShopSite, but go with another host. There are many to choose from, but check that their system works with Infin It!'s domain mapping. Please note, however, that ShopSite's President recommended LexiConn to us, as they have the best support and most consistent uptime. And LexiConn's price reduction and waiving of the setup fee will make your costs about the same as at many of the other hosts.

3. You can stick with your Store Build It! store, if you're happy with it "as is." We will not be updating or upgrading Store Build It! because SBI! will focus all its energies on what it does best, C T P. We've never charged for the hosting of Store Build It! since we launched it, but will begin to do so some time after January 1, 2009 (rates are below). This gives you lots of time to decide what to do.

   • Starter -- $49 per year
   • Manager -- $99 per year
   • Pro -- $199 per year

   We will also be taking down the Store Build It! forum and merging all existing posts into the Hard Goods forum.

If you decide to switch to another store application and use BlueHost hosting (#1 above), see this Infin It! help for some of the free systems available (you'll still need to pay for hosting and a payment processor).

Switching to LexiConn

If you decide to move your ShopSite-based store to LexiConn (#2 above), there are a few things you'll need to do to ensure a smooth transition from Store Build It! to your LexiConn-hosted store. These items may take as little as a day or two, or as long as you want them to, depending on how much time you spend testing your LexiConn-hosted store.

1. Contact LexiConn and set up an account there.
2. Zip the files that LexiConn needs. Send the files to LexiConn.
3. Test your store thoroughly after LexiConn sets it up there, ensuring that everything works properly.
4. Remove (uninstall) your Store Build It! store.
5. Use exactly the same store subdomain in Infin It! to map to your store at LexiConn.

Below are more details about each step.

Set Up a LexiConn Account

LexiConn has agreed to give all Store Build It! owners a substantial discount on their hosting fees, and to waive the initial setup fee. Contact LexiConn using this link to ensure you receive your discount...

http://www.lexiconn.com/order/sitesell_transfer.html

You should also let them know if you want to upgrade to a newer version or higher level of ShopSite. They will inform you of the cost to upgrade.

LexiConn will let you know when your account is set up and they're ready to receive your store's files. They'll also provide you with the CNAME Provider information needed to map your store's Infin It! subdomain to LexiConn's account.

Archive and Send Your Store Build It! Store Files

Once you've received word from LexiConn, you're ready to send them your files. Click on the Archive Store button in Site Central to archive all the files.

You'll receive an e-mail when the archiving process is complete. The subject line is...

Here's a link to download a compressed version of your store

Click on the link in that message to download the zipped folder containing your files to your desktop.

Once you have the files, send them along to LexiConn as an attachment.

Tips

• If you do not receive the e-mail message within 60 minutes, check your junk or spam folder. If the message is not there, contact Support and ask them to have the message re-sent to you.
• If your ISP will not let you send attachments over 1MB, arrange with LexiConn to forward the message containing the link to them. They will then be able to download the zipped files directly to your account there.

Test Your LexiConn Store

Once LexiConn informs you that your store is up and running there, test it thoroughly to ensure that you can reach all your pages. Also check that all your products are still available, and that their prices are correct. Finally, ensure that your checkout system works as expected.

By this time, LexiConn should already have provided you with the information you'll need for Infin It!. If you don't have a CNAME Provider domain name, contact LexiConn and ask them for your account's domain name.

Remove Your Store Build It! Store

Once everything is working properly at LexiConn, it's time to remove your Store Build It! store from the SBI! database.

You do that by clicking on the Remove Store button in Site Central. Confirm that you want to remove your store. Once you click on the OK button, your store will be queued for removal.

Set Up the Infin It! Subdomain

Once you've removed your store, you'll be able to re-assign the same subdomain (ex., store) as you used with Store Build It!. This subdomain will map to the domain name that LexiConn provided earlier. If you don't yet have it, contact LexiConn to get it.

Follow the Infin It! help instructions to add the LexiConn domain name as the CNAME Provider (remember the trailing dot -- ex., www.lexiconndomainname.com.). And enter the exact subdomain (ex., store) in the Subdomain Name field that you used for your Store Build It! store. If you use any other name, your LexiConn store won't work, as you gave them that subdomain name when you opened your account.

Finally, enter the NavBar Button Name for your new store (if you're using SiteBuilder or if you're using the ***NAVBAR*** tag when uploading your pages). Also enter a Table of Contents Text Link and Description if you want them to appear on your home page.

Uninstall the Store Build It! NavBar Button

This last step does not have to be done before the 5:00 deadline, but does need to be done (if you use SiteBuilder or use the ***NAVBAR*** tag in uploaded pages).

When you set up your StBI! store, you added a button to your NavBar that gave your visitors a link to your store. You now need to remove that button.

Click on Uninstall Store NavBar Button in Site Central (just to the right of the Remove Store button). Near the top of the page, click on Uninstall Store NavBar Button to remove it from your NavBar.

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