Run and manage your online store

The CubeCart administration tool provides facilities for customer management and order fulfillment.

Manage customers

You can manage customer information by clicking on the Customers → View Customers menu item.  A customer information screen similar to the one below is displayed.

To filter the client list, enter a search term in the Search Term field and click on the Filter button.  To edit a client’s information, click on the Edit link next to the client’s name.  To delete a client’s information, click on the Delete link next to the client’s name

Manage orders

To manage customer orders click on the CubeCart administration tool’s Customers → Orders menu item.  An order summary screen similar to the one below will be displayed.

To delete an order click on the Delete link next to order you want to delete. To manage a customer order click on the Order No and an order management screen will be presented.

This screen provides customer information and order summary information.  To print out a packing list, click on the  Print Packing Slip  button at the top of the screen.  To manage the order scroll to the Order Status section at the bottom of the screen (see the image below).

You can enter the planned Shipping Date, modify the order’s status (Modify Status), enter comments to staff (Staff Comments),  select to inform the customer of the status change (Inform Customer) and enter comments to the customer (Comments to customer).  After you have completed your updates, click on the  Save Order Status  button to save the updates.

Manage mailings

You can manage bulk mailings to your clients or download client addresses under the Customers → Email Customers link on the CubeCart administration menu.  A screen similar to the one below will be displayed.

To download an email list click on the  Download Email  button and save the file to your PC.  To send a bulk mailing to clients who have subscribed to your mailing list, click on the Send Email button.

Monitor usage

CubeCart includes facilities for you to monitor statistics of searches performed on your site, product popularity and the customers currently on line.  To access the CubeCart statistics, click on the Statistics → View Stats menu link.  A screen similar to the one below will be displayed that allows you to select the area you want to get statistics for.

Backup your store

Backup store/site files

Any time you customize your store files, e.g., the ".php", ".tpl", template files, you should backup it up in case you need to restore your site. You can make a backup using the control panel File Manager utility or download your files to your PC using FTP.  To backup your site using the File Manager utility, do the following:

1)     Login to the hosting control panel using the user name and password provided in your welcome letter.

2)     Click on the File Manager icon.

3)     Browse to the folder that contains your store content by first clicking on your main site folder, e.g., mydomainname.com, and then clicking on the folder icon next to your store folder, e.g., cubecart.

4)     A screen similar to the one below will be displayed to right.  Click the  zip  button to create a compressed backup you can save to your PC and later restore if a problem occurs.

Backup the store’s database

Much of your store’s information is stored in a database used by CubeCart. You should backup this database regularly, and always back it up before you perform a CubeCart upgrade.  To backup your CubeCart database perform the following steps:

1)     Login to your hosting control panel account and click on the phpMyAdmin icon.

2)     Login to the CubeCart database you want to backup by clicking on the login icon.

3)     The phpMyAdmin screen is displayed. Click on the name of your database in the left hand column.

4)     This shows all tables. Select "Export" link at the top of the screen.

5)     Then, complete the steps below:

 

1. Select all tables.

2. Check the "Add DROP TABLE" box

3. Check the "Complete inserts" box

4. Check the "Save as File" box.

5. Check the "None" for compression. If your database is very large use a compression method.

6. Click Go. The data will now be saved to a file on your PC. Keep these files safe! 

How often should I backup?  We perform only system level backups, so users should maintain backups of their store databases.  You should backup on a regular basis. Backup your store’s database whenever you make a change to the configuration and prior to all upgrades. At a minimum you should backup your database once a week. 

Restore your store from a backup

Restore the CubeCart database

Database restores are performed in two steps: Step One, clear the data currently in the database and Step Two, restore from your backup.

Step One

Prior to beginning a restore, check to make sure you have a  good backup of your CubeCart database as there is no 'undo' function!

1)     Login to your hosting control panel account and click on the phpMyAdmin icon.

2)     If you have multiple databases, select the login icon for the CubeCart database you want to restore.

3)     This will log you in to phpMyAdmin. Click on the name of your database to display your database tables.

4)     Next: You need to DROP all CubeCart tables in your database to make room for the restore.  Select the Check All link, then the Drop for the action at the bottom of the screen.

5)     You will then see a screen similar to the one below displayed.

 

 

6)     Click the “Yes” button, to clear your database. Your database is now empty. Go to Step Two.

Step Two

There are 2 ways to import the data from your backup file: A - Use the Import function and select the Browse button to locate the backup file on your computer and then upload it, or, B - You can open the .sql file on your PC and paste the contents into SQL window.

 

A: Typically you will want to use this method by completing the steps below.

 

 

1)     Click on your database name and then select Import at the top of the screen.

2)     Click on the Browse button and browse to and select your backup file on your PC.

3)     Click the Go button to import your date and complete the restore.

B: If your .sql backup file is greater than 32 MBs or you are getting timeout errors then use this method and do the following:

 

1)     Click on your database name and then select SQL at the top of the screen.

2)     Open your .sql backup file in a text editor, e.g., Note Pad. Do NOT use a word-processor, Dreamweaver, etc. - on a Windows machine WordPad is okay.

3)     Copy everything in the file and then paste it into the SQL window.

4)     Click the Go button and phpMyAdmin will begin the import.  Note, it can take a while for the import to complete, and you need to be careful to copy/paste all lines in the file.