Removing USPS logo

[sentinel]

When using the USPS API for shipping, how do I remove the goofy logo that is added to the cart pages? I could delete the image but that wouldn't stop it putting a red X where it would be put. It places the image on the extreme right of my pages as it appears to wrap the image to a non-existent column. So far I have not found a way of suppressing it or, if it were possible, relocating it to a normal position within the rest of the page.

[Jim]

Displaying the shipping carrier logo is a contractual requirement for using their service. (USPS, UPS, FedEX) so the logo can't be removed.

Are you using your own custom template or a ShopSite provided one? What is the html source around where the logo is being displayed?

[sentinel]

Hi Jim,

Thanks for the reply. I'm a little confused about the logo issue. From the Terms and Conditions:

"The trademarks/logos and USPS data received via the interfaces may not be used in any way that implies endorsement or sponsorship by USPS of the User or any of the User's products, goods or services."

Ok, that doesn't say I can't have it on my website in a way that doesn't imply endorsement or sponsorship, but it doesn't insist that I display it in that, or any of the rest of the Terms and Conditions either.

The main objection I have is that there is no way to control its position on the page, not that I hate the USPS or anything. I can see in the source of the generated page that you put it in the center. That's a problem for me. I have added Shopsite to my existing website which is aligned to the left and is a fixed number of pixels wide. So the logo appears to use this to create a whole new column on the page. So unless the viewer is using a browser in very widescreen format, the logo goes off the edge of the page.

Not being able to control any part of my page is a real big problem for me. Trying to control Shopsite to match my own website has been an uphill battle all the way. Unless you go with the pre-existing templates (which I couldn't without it looking like two different websites), you have to learn to write custom templates. This is a very steep learning curve. Then I find out I STILL don't have total control as in the above issue, and another one that no-one has so far answered from a couple of days ago. Then you can't even upload pages from a program like GoLive or DreamWeaver. Only cutting and pasting. No global headers and footers. The issues go on and on.

Shopsite needs a serious redesign to allow total control from the content writer's viewpoint. They can start by getting rid of the gimmicky cartoon interface where I can't find anything. (Custom templates under Merchandising?)

Anyway, thanks for at least answering and letting me know where I stand with the logo layout problem.

[VDCUSA]

I have to agree very much with Sentinel's post. As a developer, Shopsite's interface and software process has been very "reverse" for an end user (developer), especially for those of us looking at the product from a "pro" or more enterprise level. I can see it being very useful for VERY small sites or for an end user who has never touched html.

I hope that future releases will reflect that this customer feedback has been taken to heart, and implemented into the software UI. (I have seen this expressed all over the forum).

ESPECIALLY the part about cut/paste into form fields of UI, rather than direct site connections and upload from an authoring environment. For me, Dreamweaver- an industry leader, and very heavily used product (esp. now that macromedia was absorbed by adobe).

I don't care about "new" features; I care about how I interact with dev environment. I can dev around lacking feature sets, and would frankly expect to retain control over my site at large, and treat the cart as what it is- a site section, behind a secure server. Same with global site settings, and not being able to inherently set these aspects in Shopsite- headers, footers, includes files. Speed is the heart of the matter for me. I need software that enhances my business, not hinders it. By now, I should be able to outline sections and set global aspects, not lay down all this hand coding - it's too "set the wayback machine" from my perspective.

Sorry to contribute in a "pile on" way- but this is not a "whining" thing- it is a real pain point that has directly affected my dev schedule. time=money. I will prevail, but I have serious hesitation about recommended this cart product to my professional colleagues.

Having said all that, as a customer, I appreciate this venue, and the opportunity to openly express opinions/concerns.

Michelle Cookson
Director, Web Operations

[sentinel]

Thanks for supporting my position Michelle. Most of the issues with Shopsite that I came across were of the "I can work around it or kludge it but it's a real pain" type, but the USPS logo alignment is not even accessible. The designer assumes that center alignment is fine for everyone. It basically dictates that you use center alignment for your website if you include a carrier look-up on your cart. Unfortunately, I have no choice but to use such a shipping look-up as I ship overseas. If an overseas customer plugs their postal code into the first page using a non-lookup shipping method (fixed price for example), they don't get a country menu to pick from. So then they get charged the same as a US customer! This is because the shipping is added BEFORE the customer enters their address. (Another design weakness but using a shipping look-up is a workaround - with an issue.)

Anyway, to use center alignment would mean I'd have to redesign my whole website just so the cart doesn't look goofy with a logo going off the side of the page. So I ended up going back to my old cart. Pity, after all the work I put in. But with it, I can have as many fixed or otherwise prices for shipping that I like. They are calculated after the customer enters their address so you don't have to rely on, say, USPS's lookup server being up for a customer to use your website.

But I also agree that it's good that Shopsite offer this venue to discuss the issue. By contrast, I had a serious technical issue with Checkpoint's ZoneAlarm a couple of days ago. The latest update stopped my PC working. I wrote it up on their tech forum (I have two PCs fortunately) and, I assume because it was a negative post, they deleted it! Three times! So anyone with the same issue has no idea they are not alone. So thanks Shopsite for at least being open to criticism. That's a good sign and I may be back to give a future version a try. I won't with Checkpoint.

[VDCUSA]

Wow sentinel- thanks for sharing the background with the shipping! I am heavy in a huge redesign and relaunch of the company's main site. And, today, the decision was made to extend shipping to all of North America (thank goodness, I got the rest of world off the table immediately- only in some "phase II" launch) Given that we are only going to display flat rate shipping, I was already concerned about some of the very things you have mentioned (also, why I found your post on the USPS logo- just as I was getting rather irritated with it myself-lol)

I understand every project has issues, changes, and work arounds- like I said, I am so accustomed to that and expected. However, I have been so aggravated with the EXTRA time this tool requires of my already ridiculously tight scheduling. BUMMER about your cart- nothing sucks more than that feeling of, "well, that was all for naught."

Sigh. Oh well! I do appreciate that this forum so often gets me to the answers, and other solutions. it blows my mind how creative folks have had to get- but appreciate their taking the time to share. I am having our dev coordinator keep track of instances where we have actually come up with something on our end, and he will post them here...may they be indexed quickly, and help some other suffering nerd- haha!

Best with your project! - Michelle

[sentinel]

Yes, after spending many days building the cart up to match my website, I set up fixed price shipping. With all the work I put in to get it to match and work etc., I had not noticed the overseas customer problem. Fortunately, I had my brother - who lives in the UK - test it for me before I went live with it. He pointed out that he had entered his postal code properly and it was accepted, but there was no country entry offered at the shipping rate calculation stage using the fixed price method. He said he was surprised to get the same shipping costs as a US customer! With a shipper's look-up added (USPS, FedEx, UPS), the ability to enter a country magically appears. I was pretty horrified when I found there was no way to force the country selection menu to appear for fixed price. A major flaw to say the least. (Unless I just didn't understand how, but I really looked. I could have been cart-blind by then though after working with it for so long.)

If you're fixed price and staying domestic, you should be fine.

Good luck!

[ShopSite David]

A work-around to remove the logo in the footer would be to remove the [-- ShoppingCartFooter --] tag from a custom shopping cart template. This would of course remove all footer info but then you could just add any custom info to your own template. In the future ShopSite will add a class to the table and remove the center tags.

[sentinel]

Hi David,

Thanks for that. I might try that when I get time. My hosting service has left both my old cart and the Shopsite one in my account so I can test it out when I get time. Does this cause any legal issues with the USPS as was claimed by Jim in the second post in this thread? The Terms and Conditions did not seem to indicate that it would. Almost the opposite in fact. If I don't hear anything to the contrary, I'll assume that it's ok to give it the chop. There's no rush; I won't be able to get back to it for a while.

[ShopSite David]

I cannot advise you on any legal ramifications for displaying or not displaying their logo. I do know that UPS did and perhaps still does require that their logo be displayed if their rates were being displayed. Perhaps we assumed that USPS would have the same requirements.

[sentinel]

Ok. Thanks David. I won't use UPS unless I can modify the footer so the alignment works for my website. Then I'll be in compliance.