Sunday 12 August 2007

Things are changing on the birdmotel website



Dan's just spent what seems like forever doing some work behind the scenes on the birdmotel website, and he's finally got it to a point where we could unleash it on the world.

Now to start with, it's not going to look like much other than a bit of a layout change to the home page, but in the coming month we will be adding Gift Certificates (finally), wish lists (that can be shared with friends via email), and an online returns and exchanges process.


Now for the the things that are already new:

* we've added a search feature, so whether you are looking for a particular product or are after something in a particular colour, it will be so much easier to find

* we have changed the check-out process to give you the option to register. This means you can just log-in on subsequent visits without re-entering your vitals. You will still be able to check-out without registering, but if you register you will get to use features like wish lists down the track, and we'll be able to provide you with a more personalised service

* you can now sort categories and brands by latest additions, price and product name

* we've added thumbnail images to our cart (shopping bag) page so you have a visual on what goodies you've got in there


* we've moved from US to Australian servers, so things like images should load faster for customers in Australia


INTERNATIONAL CUSTOMERS:
* GST is now automatically removed for international customers upon check-out, so if you're outside Australia you can now shop for less

* we've simplified our shipping for international customers - all international orders will be sent by insured air mail.


Finally, you might have notice we've started using www.birdmotel.com.au as our default address. We choose to do this so it is clear to customers that we're based in Australia. www.birdmotel.com will still get you there, but you may want to update any bookmarks to pages deeper in our site.


After months of hard work, we are hoping the transition to the new servers will be smooth sailing, but please feel free to let us know if you have any difficulties.
We'd love to hear any feedback on these changes, and also input on other features you'd like to see included down the track.

Enjoy!
Jo x