Undate on Air Electric Garden windmill parts

I have been getting phone calls from customers saying they cannot order on line – that the check out is not working and they want to order over the phone.  I was puzzled my main sales site has been working for several years.  To take the order over the phone I go to my main eCommerce site, choose the product, add their billing and shipping information and complete the order.  Every thing seemed to be working just fine.  It was just not making any sense to me why an increasing number of people where having problems with checking out.

Because of the product lines I sell I always get a few customers that are not familiar with computers and how to order items on line.   A lot of my customers are geezers like me.  Normally I can walk customers through the shopping cart and check out over the phone or direct them to the Frequently Asked Questions menu where there are complete instructions with screen shots of how the check out process words.  Almost every item has a link in the description to click on if they are having problems understanding the steps involved in placing an order on line.  This link opens the instructions on how to check out.

The recent customers not only were have difficulties checking out they were have difficulties getting to the section that offers a lot of help in how the check out works.  This was becoming even more puzzling.  I change and update the “How to Check out” section quite often and I know it works.  I test my eCommerce site with various browsers and with both PCs and Apples.

Finally I learned to ask the most important question  —- How are your getting to the yardgardenwindmill site??   The answer is they are getting to the site with their smart phone or their tablet – they are attempting to use Android Phones and Tables;  iPhones and iPads and even Kindle and Nook devices.  One customer well into his 80s was a huge help to me in understanding what was going on and why people were running into difficulties in attempting to place orders.  He and his wife had struggled for years attempting to learn how to use their computer.  They recently purchased an iPad and were using it with a lot more success than they had even had with their computer.   Another elderly couple gave me more information – they were attempting to order with their Android based smart phone, they too had struggled with attempting to use a computer and had gone to using their phone for internet shopping.  A elderly lady clued me in even more – she was using a Kindle these days for everything on the internet and had not turned on her computer for months she too had a lot of difficulties in learning how to use her computer.

It had never occurred to me that seniors were attempting to use smart phones and tables to access the Internet.  I have had an iPhone for several years and while it is very useful I do not use it very often for online orders other than Kindle books.   When I want to order something online I use one of my computers, when I am away from my office I almost always have a laptop with me.

Here is what I have learned – a lot of people including people who are well into their 60s, 70s and 80s are increasingly using smart phones and tablets on the Internet.  In a number of cases these are people who have struggled with attempting to learn to use a computer on line.    Curious I went to my eCommerce site with my iPhone and attempted to place an order.  It was really difficult to choose an item and the options and when I attempted to go to the screen where I enter my shipping and billing information my shopping cart failed.   I do not have any type of tablet so the only way I can test these is go into the city and go to stores that have these mobile devices set up so customers can “play” with them.

My eCommerce site is done on a templated shopping cart system.  There is nothing I can do to enhance it for mobile access.  I can do only very basic things like add items and pages.   For several years this eCommerce solution has very well, but it is designed for computers – it is not at all Mobile friendly and in fact does not work at all with at least my iPhone.  The most frustrating thing is there is nothing I can do with this type of shopping cart to make the Mobile experience better or even work.

While there is no way to fix my main eCommerce site to make it work with mobile devices I have found a solution.   There have been some very good advancements with eCommerce solutions using WordPress Plugins.   I already have a complex eCommerce site running on WordPress.    I use iThemes Builder as my theme for almost every WordPress site I do.  iThemes has developed a couple of Builder Child themes that are enhanced to work well with several good WordPress eCommerce solutions.   The problem up until very recently was the only way to make these site Mobile ready was to use plugins that actually generate a mobile ready theme when accessed by a mobile device such as a smart phone or tablet.  This was not a very good solution in that there were different settings required for each and every type of device.   While this sort of worked if the settings were correct for the individual devices the entire “look and feel” of the web site was very different from the “look and feel” of the main theme which people view when they use a computer.

iThemes has very recently begun to create child themes that are “Responsive” and now has a few Responsive child  themes that are enhanced to work with some good eCommerce solutions.   Responsive means that the WordPress based web site adjusts itself to whatever device accesses the site.  The type is readable, the images are viewable and the menus work on computers as well as tablets and phones and other mobile devices like the Kindle or Nook.  The “look and feel” of the these Responsive sites is the same no matter how they are accessed.

I have switched the iThemes Builder theme that works with eCommerce WordPress solutions to one of the new iThemes Builder Responsive themes that is enhanced for one of my eCommerce WordPress Plugins.   I am adding all of the items that are available on my regular eCommerce web site to this new Responsive site.  While I cannot change the main eCommerce site I can put some links there to connect people to the new Mobile Ready eCommerce site.

The goal here is to be able to offer a way that actually works for my customers, many of which are seniors who have struggled and given up with using computers and have “graduated” to smart phones and tablets.  I work on web sites “live” so you can actually “watch” as I develop this new Responsive Mobile Ready site – it will be a companion site to my main eCommerce site.  Just click this   Mobile Ready Site link.

The site is “under construction” I am adding to it and working on it so the appearance, content and navigation are changing – something may or may not work.  Try the site with your phone, mobile device or tablet and tell me how it looks and works for you in the comments – please tell me what you are using to access this site.

For those of you who develop, manage or maintain eCommerce sites the thing to know is if my customers are increasingly using mobile devices your customers are also.  It is time to do what you can to make certain your sales sites are usable with these new devices.   Go to the Apple Store and try you site on iPhones and iPads — go to one of the big box stores and try your eCommerce site with everything you can – Android devices, Kindles, Nooks – phones and tablets and see if your site works with these devices.   The thing to know is your customers like mine may very well be using their phones and tablets to attempt to purchase your products and you eCommerce site very well may not be working for them.