At one time our stores only had the first/next/previous/last feature, and we "complainers" asked for paging.  We got a 5-page thing added which helped but really only allows a shopper to navigate 2 pages in either direction.  Pretty useless when some stores like mine have over 100 pages.  Even regular GCU categories, like Bridesmaids-All, have 50-100 pages.  Most shoppers wont navigate very many pages "in" so having a easier way to browse to deeper pages would allow many burried cards to perhaps be seen, finally.
 
I'd like to suggest a smarter use of the 2-row navigation bar spaces, and have one design approach for in-stores and out-of-store category pages (right now they are different).
 
Row 1: (L-R)
Cards per page pull down (like today on the out-of-store category pages)
Sort options
Current card range (ie: 122-256 of 2986 cards)
Page count range (ie: 2 of 24 pages)
[Note - no need to have a separate card count or page count if that is shown already in the range info]
 
Row 2: (L-R)
Page Jump pull-down (saves typing in a value vs an entry window)
First
<<Prev
-100
-50
-10
Clickable 1-10 page range (adjust value based on current page)  ie: (21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30)
+10
+50
+100
Next>>
Last
 
Or something very similar to this to allow deep diving and then +/- page browsing.
 
I'd also suggest the in-store testimonials be only on page 1.  Right now they are on all store pages.
 
TOM

Hi All,
 
Well, it's not like the wish list isn't full but, I would like to add one more item to the store management list since we are focusing in on this area.
 
Please consider the ability to highlight multiple cards in arrange gallery to drag and drop as a group.
 
If all these things come to pass Jeff may actually find himself with time on his hands and Tom setting new highs in sales!  
 
Pamela
 
 
 

Quote from Pamela_135500 on May 27^th, 2009, 5:13am:

 
Just pick out the desired group starting point in your store, say card "200" and assign that to each card in your group and then hit SAVE.  They will all end up together.  You can then do a little dragging/dropping to get them in a particular order in the group before hitting SAVE a second time.
 
Tom

Hi everyone,
 
As always, thank you for your feedback and suggestions.  Remember that we believe this forum and how we value and act on your input is what sets GCU apart from other sites.   Our main goal is to increase card sales, and the need for a new layout was an attempt to increase our conversions for the category pages.  The actual conversions for the new layout is slightly higher than the old layout, but with so many outside variables, its too early to make any conclusions.   It is however clear that the kind of cards selling are a different mix than the cards we sold before.
 
The goal now is to find the right balance of "showing shoppers relevant cards" with as little effort as possible, at the same time offer clear enough navigations for the shoppers to narrow down their search, if desired.   We will soon be performing an A/B test with the two layouts.  This will only apply to shoppers navigating through the site.   Search customers will continue to see the old style pages.   Once we get some meaningful metrics, we plan to take out the new design in full and see if the mix of sales and visits actually go back to "normal".
 
Please note that the category change went into effect on the 6th.   We showed strong sales from the 6th through the 15th, but from the 16th through 25th, the sales dropped dramatically.    We didn't experience the same dip in May of last year, so its challenging to pinpoint the contributing factors.   It can be due to many factors, i.e. summer time is getting closer, vacations, wedding seasonality factors, search rankings lower from competition, site modifications, etc.      
 
Again, thank you all for your patience and the ongoing dialogue.    A lot of effort has been invested in the new design, but if the numbers don't support it, it'll be dropped.  
 
Thanks,
Nasser

Visits, or the lack thereof, don't bother me. Sales are the thing, as we all know. I have been experiencing an increase in my sales, so maybe I'm one of the ones that this has helped. If so, PLEASE, don't change it back!!!!!! I understand if some don't want to change the status quo, but, I don't want to have less sales, either. Maybe the fact that the older "more popular" cards sold so well is because the customers couldn't find the newer ones. If that's the case, I'm sorry, but I'm thrilled that they are finding mine! So, please do wait to see if total sales fall off before going back to the old way of doing things. Because, if the total stays the same, maybe it was time for a change.
Kathy

Hi Nassar,
 
Thanks for the update and info on what's happening with the new menu pages.  As I said in a previous post, I think icon buttons or bulleting is a great idea and something that GCU must do to stay competitive, particularly as the # of cards and categories continue to grow.  In the first few days -- prior to some Primo Tweaking by the GCU programmers, lol! -- it appeared that new cards were more heavily weighted than older cards.  Fresh content is good for business overall ... the problem many of us saw was that new cards often come in series, thus many of the new menu icons were showing pages of the exact same cards with slightly different text.  That problem seems to be resolved now ... the pages look much more varied and appealing to shoppers.  Good job, GCU!  
 
fyi ... my sales were pretty much the same during the 6th-15th period and the 16th-25th of May.  There seemed to be a few days that lagged in the latter period, but sales bounced back over the holiday weekend.  For what it's worth, we may not have seen that kind of dip in mid-May last year (and it's certainly worth monitoring), but overall sales both site-wise and from store front are certainly greater and more steady than last year.  Mastering the Greeting Card Universe takes time, tweaking, and lots of faith -- on your part as well as ours!  
 
Any rough ETA on the much-anticipated new Shopping Tool?  Any chance it can be beta tested during before the upcoming holiday season?  ~she takes nuts out of her hands and crosses fingers~  
 
Thanks again for the update and keeping up informed, Nassar!
 
--Teri

I don't seem to be able to find the new menu any more. I'm trying to navigate through from the all cards page.

All this menu messing around is effecting (affecting - I can never rember which is correct) the way the search engines are finding our cards too.     I can do a general google search that uses my NAME and can find my cards and store, but try to do a search with keywords and titles I KNOW are on my cards I can't find them. . . similar images I have on OTHER sites do come up though.  
 
On the other hand, if I do a google PRODUCT search with my name or store name (and greeting cards) NOTHING comes up! NADA!!   (Yet, the same search with Corrie, Tom Rent, Flying Horse Design, Norval, or Whisper bring up their cards as products.  In the PAST if I did such a search with name & "greeting cards" my cards came up.  Now I don't have a gizillion cards, but I tried this with some unique named stores that have around 100 cards and they came up.
 
Lost in Space!
 
'e'