What is Business Catalyst?

Business Catalyst is the all-in-one product that makes life easier and business more profitable. We're replacing 10+ tools that are essential for internet businesses with one - that's why life is easier. No more moving data between a handful of separate solutions. No more remembering 10 log ins for different products. No more wrestling with code and techie stuff. At a basic level Business Catalyst is web hosting for your business website. But to go with that you get website management tools, email marketing, eCommerce and an integrated customer database.

What are the system requirements to use Business Catalyst?

There are a number of ways you can use Business Catalyst's products.

• Use any popular web browser. On the Mac we support Safari 2+ and Firefox 2+. On Windows we support Internet Explorer 5.5+ and Firefox 2+
• Use FTP
• Use our Adobe Dreamweaver plugin Triangle - it allows you to manage your Business Catalyst website directly inside Dreamweaver (MX, 8 and CS3) on both Mac and PC

I've heard solutions like this aren't Search Engine Friendly. Is this solution Search Engine friendly?

Of course! We use friendly URLs throughout and utilize search engine friendly techniques such as 301 Permanent Redirects. We even integrate with Google, Yahoo!, and Live sitemaps feature, so the system regularly and automatically generates a "sitemap" which the search engines use to ensure your website gets maximum visibility in the search results.

I've got some PHP code on my web site that my nephew programmed for me. Can I use that?

Our goal was to create a platform that fulfilled the needs of 90% of all business people, so they didn't need to get their nephews and granddaughters to program for them. So the answer is no, you can't run PHP, ASP or other server-side code. But you can probably replicate the functionality, and then maintain it yourself without a problem.

I've already got a CRM solution that works for me. Can I still use Business Catalyst?

Yes, but you won't get the full benefit of having everything "all-in-one". You'll need to import and export contact information back and forth between the systems in order to use the email marketing solution. If you've got some programming skills and some spare time, there is an API built to help you sync your customer databases that you can leverage.

Is there a limit on the size of my customer database?

No, there isn't :)

How many email newsletter campaigns can I send out each month?

As many as you want! However any plan with email marketing allows you to send 10,000 email newsletters per month at no cost. If you want to send out more then you'll need to buy more email newsletter packs.

Do you take a cut of my online sales?

Nope! Business Catalyst doesn't take any cut from your sales. However your payment gateway or your bank may charge you a fee to process your payments.

Can I customize the look and feel of my enquiry forms?

Sure you can. When you paste the HTML code for any of your web forms into your web pages, you can completely change the layout and use your own CSS to customize it to look however you like.

How do I enable SMS notifications for my enquiry forms?

You can use the inbuilt Workflow framework to choose who you want notified each time a customer enquires and how you want them to be notified, e.g. via email, SMS or both. If you want SMS notifications you simply buy a suitable SMS pack. You can use the inbuilt Workflow framework to choose who you want notified each time a customer enquires and how you want them to be notified, e.g. via email, SMS or both. If you want SMS notifications you simply buy a suitable SMS pack.

Can I use FTP to manage my website?

Yes you get access to FTP to speed up managing your Business Catalyst website.

How can I collect payments on my shop?

There are a number of ways you can collect payments on your online shop. You can use any of the existing payment gateways already supported, e.g. Authorize.net, Google Checkout, PayPal and many more. Or you can opt to use the "Process Offline" method that captures payment details from customers and you can then process these manually using your existing point-of-sale (POS) system. You can also enable customers to choose to pay by Check and COD.

Can I run Javascript, CSS Stylesheets and Flash on Business Catalyst?

Yeah, sure! Anything you can run on another HTML page or on your blog will work just fine. Remember that at a base-level Business Catalyst is like any other web hosting platform.

Can I use my own web address? Or do i need to use wxyz.businesscatalyst.com?

You can use your own web address, also called a URL or domain name. You can either redelegate your domain and use our DNS servers. Or you can create an A-Record in your existing DNS service to point your domain to your new site at Business Catalyst - it's up to you. For instructions on this, see our knowledge base article.

Is your system XHTML compliant?

Yes indeed it is. Is your website? Because Business Catalyst will respect your HTML code and won't change it, your website's XHTML compliance will depend on the HTML code that you or your designer has created. However if you do insert any system modules onto your web pages, the system will generate XHTML compliant code.

Is there a limit on the number of catalogues or products in my online shop?

Not at all. You can have as many catalogues and products as you like.

Is my creative freedom limited when designing a web page for Business Catalyst?

Absolutely not! Business Catalyst does not limit your creative freedom whatsoever. You have complete control over the HTML that you put into the system.

I use Dreamweaver to build my web pages, how will that work with Business Catalyst?

We love Dreamweaver too! In fact we love it so much that we built a plugin for it, it's called Triangle. Triangle allows you to manage your Business Catalyst website directly inside Dreamweaver. Triangle works on Mac and PC (MX, 8, CS3, and CS4).

Do I need to know programming or HTML to add content to my web pages?

No you don't. If you can use a word processor then you can add content to your web pages. Keep in mind though, that things like the overall design, layout and "look" of your site may require help from a designer or someone who knows a little bit of HTML or CSS.

You call Business Catalyst an all-in-one online business platform. How is it "all-in-one"?

Basically when you log in, you'll be able to immediately access your contact database, your orders, web form submissions, products and catalogues, web pages and email marketing campaigns from one central location. Furthermore, all of those functions are built to work together from the ground up!

How is Business Catalyst like web hosting?

It's very similar actually - some people call Business Catalyst a "next generation" hosting solution because of all the built in goodies that it comes with. You'll have an FTP account to upload web pages, CSS, flash, javascript and images. It's also true to say that anything you can do with a regular web hosting company, you can do with us.