Secure, Full-Featured E-Commerce Application for Under $500 Introduced by ICentral

Provo, UT - March 3, 1997

ICentral, Inc., a developer of electronic commerce software for the Internet since 1995, today announced ShopSite Manager v3, a secure, online catalog creation and management application, fully integrated with a shopping basket function, priced below $500. It includes tools for site creation and management, handling online order fulfillment, gathering and reporting sales and traffic statistics, and handling secure encrypted transactions.

More than 200 online catalogs have been built using ShopSite Manager v2. ICentral has applied what was learned during the past 18 months to ShopSite Manager v3 and delivers those features to independent web designers and hosting providers who want to reach small- to medium-sized businesses.

"The first thing that attracted me to ShopSite was the overall value. Its price point and functionality make it attractive as an entry level solution for clients with limited financial or staffing resources," says Becky Smith, owner of Liquid Webs, a San Antonio, Texas, web design and consulting company that is also an iCat channel partner as well as a ShopSite Savvy channel partner. "Three features in particular sold me: the email notification to the shopper confirming what has been ordered and for how much; the integrated shopping cart, and the sales and traffic statistics. The margins a reseller can make on the product are also very attractive.

"For under $1000, ShopSite Manager is the best product to recommend to a merchant who is just getting started on the net," comments Smith.

"ShopSite is enabling us to reach a much broader market than we could reach with the set of web tools we had been using," observes Matthew Jones, president of NetFIRE, a ShopSite Savvy channel partner located in Orem, Utah. NetFIRE specializes in the creation and hosting of high-end web sites. "We don't have the resources to provide intensive technical support, so our traditional customers have been fairly technical. Once a store is up and running under ShopSite, merchants have a very simple interface for managing their online store. They have control over their product information, down to the shipping options, yet they don't have to understand programming or HTML. It limits the number of tech support calls we receive." says Jones.

A free demo is available to download upon request. An online demo is available at http://www.icentral.com/products/shopsiteDemo/default.html.

STORE CREATION AND MANAGEMENT TOOLS

Unlike many electronic commerce applications which require one system for store creation and another system for store operation, users interact with ShopSite Manager for store creation, store management and shopping through a standard Internet browser, such as Netscape Navigator ( or Microsoft's( Internet Explorer. By adopting this universal interface, users have access to ShopSite from any location and virtually any computer platform. The application itself requires a BSDI- or Linux-based operating system supporting standard NCSA-compatible web server software, like Apache. ICentral plans to complete ports of ShopSite Manager to other versions of UNIX and Windows NT by second quarter.

No HTML is necessary to create a store. Novice users interact with the application through a point-and-click, forms-based interface. More advanced users can apply HTML to deliver a highly customized web site.

Unlike some electronic commerce applications, ShopSite does not limit the number of simultaneous shoppers within a single store. For all practical purposes, there can be an unlimited number of concurrent shoppers.

The database uploader feature enables web designers to create their product database off line using a standard spreadsheet, database or accounting package, then upload that product file to the ShopSite application in tab-delimited format. Because product information is maintained in a single file, changes can be made quickly and easily. The software re-builds the entire site automatically.

ONLINE HELP

User questions are answered quickly via page-sensitive links to ShopSite's online help documentation. Users also have access to numerous in-depth online documents covering a wealth of web-related topics, such as an introduction to HTML code, what to look for when choosing a hosting provider, tips on creating good web graphics, and more. The entire help archive is indexed with a search engine.

SHOPPING BASKET FEATURES

ShopSite contains a fully integrated shopping basket module, enabling customers to easily place secure, online orders. The module uses a unique cookies/IP tracking system. If cookies is turned off by privacy sensitive individuals, the system use IP tracking.

Merchants and web designers can pick from among a number of shipping options, then enter the cost information into their shipping database. Shipping costs are automatically calculated into the shopper's order totals. The same is true for sales tax.

SHOPPER/MERCHANT SECURITY

ShopSite takes advantage of Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) security, protecting both shoppers and merchants when transmitting credit card or other payment information. Credit card numbers are also encrypted when stored on the host server. If an unauthorized person attempts to access the order database, the encrypted information is useless. All changes to the store must be made through ShopSite's secure, password protected back office.

SALES AND MARKETING TOOLS

After a shopper places an order on a ShopSite store, an email "receipt" is automatically and immediately generated and sent to the customer, confirming that order. An email is also sent to the merchant, instantly alerting the merchant that a sale has been made.

Orders are stored online for merchant reference and retrieval as long as necessary. Viewing and deleting orders takes place from the secure, password protected back office. In addition, merchants can access sales and traffic statistics from the back office.

SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS

The following system configuration is recommended for the average ShopSite store: any 486/33 or higher PC; BSDI v2.0 or Linux v2.0.2 or later operating system; 16 MB RAM; 10 MB free hard drive space. The server must be running Apache v1.1.1, or other NCSA-compatible server software, PERL v5.003 and Sendmail.

The client (for store creation and management) must be running Netscape Navigator or Microsoft Internet Explore (v3 is preferred for both). The shopper can be running virtually any web browser.

ShopSite Manager v3 lists for $395 and is available now through a ShopSite Savvy reseller or can be purchased directly from ICentral's web page (http://www.icentral.com). The company encourages interested merchants to purchase from a ShopSite Savvy web designer or hosting service provider where they can get a more complete solution. A list of ShopSite Savvy partners is available at http://www.icentral.com/resell/list.html. Should a merchant choose to purchase direct from ICentral, he or she can complete the solution by selecting from a list of ShopSite Savvy hosting providers and web designers.

ICentral offers three free phone support incidents to new users who buy direct. Additional phone incidents cost $25. Or direct customers can pay $250 for a one-year support contract. Unlimited free email-based support is available to all ShopSite users.

ABOUT ICENTRAL

ICentral, Inc. has been providing Internet electronic commerce software to merchants since November, 1995, when ShopSite v1 was introduced. ICentral's goal is to help smaller companies make maximum use of the Internet with a minimum investment in time and money. Founded in October, 1995, ICentral, Inc. is a privately held company located in Provo, Uath.

Company contact information:
URL: http://www.icentral.com
Email: info@icentral.com.
Phone: 888-373-4347 or +1.801.373.4347
Fax: +1.801.373.7211

* ICentral and ShopSite are trademarks of ICentral, Inc. All other trademarks, marked and not marked, are the property of their respective owners