Introduction > X-Cart Key Features > 

Administration

Each store based on X-Cart has a zone that provides a web-based interface allowing the store administrator to control all the aspects of the store's functioning. In fact, this zone represents a control panel that the administrator can use to work on the store from any computer with Internet access and a web browser.

Access to the admin zone of an X-Cart-based store is password protected, so you do not have to worry that someone would change your store settings without your knowing. There is also an intrusion detection system that will notify the store administrator if someone's attempt to log in to the store fails.

When you change the configuration of your store, all the changes are applied in real time. You can experiment with your store settings and test various combinations of options until you find a solution that will suit your needs best. With X-Cart, you will be able to avoid a lot of expenses associated with implementing new features to your store because X-Cart already has the vast majority of features one might need to do e-commerce, and all you need to do to be able to use them is just to switch them on - at no additional cost.

X-Cart allows you to have a practically unlimited number of administrator accounts. An administrator account allows the user to watch over the whole store, control and configure it, manage accounts of other users (including admin accounts), process orders, etc.

X-Cart allows you to set up a desired number of admin accounts with limited access - "fulfillment staff accounts". A fulfillment staff account restricts access of the user to all the resources of the store's admin zone except orders and statistics.

You can easily set the date/time format that you would like to use at your store.

X-Cart allows you to modify products in two ways: you can either modify separate products one by one or simultaneously edit multiple products. When multiple products are edited simultaneously, you can make changes to just one product out of the group and apply them to all the rest of the products being edited.

X-Cart allows exporting of almost all types of data used by your store from the store database to an external file (or files) in CSV format (MS Excel compatible). It also supports importing of data from specially formatted CSV files to the database. In most cases, export and import come as two sides of one process, allowing you to first export data from your store and then to re-import it back into the store in original or modified form. You may find import and export useful for updating your store data (in the first place, for updating product information) or for transferring data from an old X-Cart store to a new one when upgrading your store or moving your store to a new location.

You can enable/disable any product or category by selecting an appropriate status for it.

You will need to let your customers know in what currency they can pay you. For this purpose, you will need to define your store's primary currency. You will use this type of currency to set up product prices, shipping rates and all other monetary values at your store. Your customers will be supposed to pay you in this currency. In addition to the primary currency, you will be able to define an alternative currency and a conversion rate for converting prices and costs from the primary to the alternative currency. If you do, your store will be able to display prices and costs twice - first, in the primary currency, second, in the alternative currency. This way customers who are used to do calculations in the currency that you use as alternative will be able to estimate prices/costs without having to convert them from one currency to another.

If you need to temporarily close your store for maintenance, you can do that at any time with just a couple of clicks. While the customer zone of your store is closed, the visitors trying to access the storefront are redirected onto a special page with a message that the store is temporarily inaccessible and may be visited at a later time. A sample of the "Shop closed" page is furnished with every X-Cart distribution package and is used by default for closing the storefront in all stores based on X-Cart. If you wish, you may choose to design your own HTML page for this purpose.

While the customer zone of your store is closed, you can access it using a secret code ("key").

X-Cart allows you to set a default shipping address for anonymous customers. This address will allow customers who are not registered or not logged in to get an estimation of the tax and shipping costs for their order based on the default shipping address and the shipping method they have selected.