Configure Gift Certificates

Screen: ShopSite > Merchandising > Gift Certificates > Configure Gift Certificate

Use this screen to enable and disable gift certificates, to configure gift certificate parameters, and to define the text for the page where customers purchase gift certificates.

Setup

These fields define the types of gift certificates that customers can purchase.

Gift Certificates

Set this field to On to allow customers to purchase and redeem gift certificates, or Off to stop using gift certificates in your store.

Gift Certificate Template

Select the gift certificate template you want to use. The template controls the appearance of the certificate order form and the actual gift certificates.

Delivery Method

This field lets you decide what kinds of gift certificates you want to sell:

E-mail gift certificates - A customer can purchase one or more gift certificates and ShopSite will automatically send the certificate information in e-mail messages to the recipients.
Mail gift certificates - After a customer purchases gift certificates, you must print the certificates and mail them to the recipients.
Both e-mail and mail - Customers can choose to have the certificates delivered by e-mail or regular mail.

Expires

You can choose to have certificates expire after a certain number of days, or set them to never expire. When you change this field, the new setting only affects certificates purchased after the change.

Send E-mail on Checkout

Check this box to have ShopSite automatically send e-mail gift certificates when a purchase is completed. If you do not check this box, you can tell ShopSite to send the e-mail messages when you view orders. This option should only be used if you are using a real-time payment gateway, as you run the risk of not getting paid if you deliver the certificate before processing the payment.

Shipping Charges

Check this box if you want to add a shipping charge for gift certificates that you must print and mail.

Weight of Each Letter

This feature allows you to use the weight of the certificates to determine the shipping charge.

Maximum Size of Message

Enter the maximum number of characters that customers can enter for the personal message on each gift certificate.

Values

These fields control the gift certificate amounts and how customers select those amounts.

Minimum Value

Set the lowest amount for a gift certificate.

Maximum Value

Set the highest amount for a gift certificate.

Use Pull Down Menu

Choose whether to let customers type in a gift certificate value or select from a pull-down list of possible values. Use the step value setting to define what values are displayed in the pull-down list, such as 10, 20, 30... or 5, 10, 15 ...

Security

Because gift certificates represent real money, security is very important. ShopSite will limit the number of times that a customer can enter invalid gift certificate information (certificate number and PIN).

Number of attempts

If a valid gift certificate number is used to redeem a certificate, but the customer fails to enter a valid PIN within the specified number of attempts, the gift certificate will become unusable (the merchant can re-enable the gift certificate manually by unlocking it on the Edit Gift Certificate screen).

Gift Certificate Page Colors

Use these features to customize the appearance of the gift certificate order page

Text Color

This sets the default display of nonlink text to the color you choose. Be sure to choose a dark color (black is usually best) unless your background is dark, so the text on your site is easy to read.

Background Color

The entire background of your page will be displayed in the color you choose here, unless you select a background image, in which case the image will appear instead of the color. Be sure to choose a light color for the background, unless you have selected a very light color for your text.

Link Color

Unvisited links to other pages and sites will appear in the color you select here.

Visited Link Color

After a customer has clicked on a link and visited the page, the color of the link will change to the color you select here, to let customers keep track of where they've been.

Active Link Color

The color selected here will only be visible at the exact moment someone is clicking on the link. Adding a bright color here adds pizzazz.

Background Image

If you have uploaded an image of a textured background to your media directory, you can use that image as a background for your site. Be careful, though, as the image will tile, meaning that it will appear multiple times as a repeating pattern, so it's a good idea to use images that were designed specifically for backgrounds. There are three methods for selecting an image:

If you chose to select images from a drop-down list, the top radio button provides pull-down menus of the image directories and images that are in your media directory. Select the directory that contains the image that you want to use, then select the image. You can preview any image by clicking on the View button.

If you chose to select images in a pop-up window, click the Select button. In the Select Image window, you can select a directory name and then click View to see the files in that directory. Click on an image file name, then click Select Image to use that image on the page.

You can type the URL of an image or the directory path to an image.

Header and Footer Text

Text at the top of the screen

Enter any text and HTML that you want to appear at the top of the page where customers purchase gift certificates.

Text at the bottom of the screen

Enter any text and HTML that you want to appear at the bottom of the page where customers purchase gift certificates.

Customer Instructions and Store Policy

It’s a good idea to tell customers exactly how to purchase gift certificates and if there are any additional rules or restrictions for their use. For example, if you set gift certificates to expire in one year, you should let customers know that.

Instructions

Enter any instructions that customers might need to know when purchasing gift certificates. The instructions will be displayed above the form for purchasing a gift certificate.

Policy

Explain any store policies related to gift certificates, such as expiration dates or shipping charges for printed certificates. ShopSite will not let customers use a gift certificates to purchase more gift certificates -- you might want to include that in your store’s policies.

Link

Gift Certificate Link

This provides an HTML anchor tag that you can copy onto custom pages or store pages that do not have a template-generated link to the gift certificate order form.

Setup These fields define the types of gift certificates that customers can purchase.
Gift Certificates	Set this field to On to allow customers to purchase and redeem gift certificates, or Off to stop using gift certificates in your store.
Gift Certificate Template	Select the gift certificate template you want to use. The template controls the appearance of the certificate order form and the actual gift certificates.
Delivery Method	This field lets you decide what kinds of gift certificates you want to sell: E-mail gift certificates - A customer can purchase one or more gift certificates and ShopSite will automatically send the certificate information in e-mail messages to the recipients. Mail gift certificates - After a customer purchases gift certificates, you must print the certificates and mail them to the recipients. Both e-mail and mail - Customers can choose to have the certificates delivered by e-mail or regular mail.
Expires	You can choose to have certificates expire after a certain number of days, or set them to never expire. When you change this field, the new setting only affects certificates purchased after the change.
Send E-mail on Checkout	Check this box to have ShopSite automatically send e-mail gift certificates when a purchase is completed. If you do not check this box, you can tell ShopSite to send the e-mail messages when you view orders. This option should only be used if you are using a real-time payment gateway, as you run the risk of not getting paid if you deliver the certificate before processing the payment.
Shipping Charges	Check this box if you want to add a shipping charge for gift certificates that you must print and mail.
Weight of Each Letter	This feature allows you to use the weight of the certificates to determine the shipping charge.
Maximum Size of Message	Enter the maximum number of characters that customers can enter for the personal message on each gift certificate.
Values These fields control the gift certificate amounts and how customers select those amounts.
Minimum Value	Set the lowest amount for a gift certificate.
Maximum Value	Set the highest amount for a gift certificate.
Use Pull Down Menu	Choose whether to let customers type in a gift certificate value or select from a pull-down list of possible values. Use the step value setting to define what values are displayed in the pull-down list, such as 10, 20, 30... or 5, 10, 15 ...
Security Because gift certificates represent real money, security is very important. ShopSite will limit the number of times that a customer can enter invalid gift certificate information (certificate number and PIN).
Number of attempts	If a valid gift certificate number is used to redeem a certificate, but the customer fails to enter a valid PIN within the specified number of attempts, the gift certificate will become unusable (the merchant can re-enable the gift certificate manually by unlocking it on the Edit Gift Certificate screen).
Gift Certificate Page Colors Use these features to customize the appearance of the gift certificate order page
Text Color	This sets the default display of nonlink text to the color you choose. Be sure to choose a dark color (black is usually best) unless your background is dark, so the text on your site is easy to read.
Background Color	The entire background of your page will be displayed in the color you choose here, unless you select a background image, in which case the image will appear instead of the color. Be sure to choose a light color for the background, unless you have selected a very light color for your text.
Link Color	Unvisited links to other pages and sites will appear in the color you select here.
Visited Link Color	After a customer has clicked on a link and visited the page, the color of the link will change to the color you select here, to let customers keep track of where they've been.
Active Link Color	The color selected here will only be visible at the exact moment someone is clicking on the link. Adding a bright color here adds pizzazz.
Background Image	If you have uploaded an image of a textured background to your media directory, you can use that image as a background for your site. Be careful, though, as the image will tile, meaning that it will appear multiple times as a repeating pattern, so it's a good idea to use images that were designed specifically for backgrounds. There are three methods for selecting an image: If you chose to select images from a drop-down list, the top radio button provides pull-down menus of the image directories and images that are in your media directory. Select the directory that contains the image that you want to use, then select the image. You can preview any image by clicking on the View button. If you chose to select images in a pop-up window, click the Select button. In the Select Image window, you can select a directory name and then click View to see the files in that directory. Click on an image file name, then click Select Image to use that image on the page. You can type the URL of an image or the directory path to an image.
Header and Footer Text
Text at the top of the screen	Enter any text and HTML that you want to appear at the top of the page where customers purchase gift certificates.
Text at the bottom of the screen	Enter any text and HTML that you want to appear at the bottom of the page where customers purchase gift certificates.
Customer Instructions and Store Policy It’s a good idea to tell customers exactly how to purchase gift certificates and if there are any additional rules or restrictions for their use. For example, if you set gift certificates to expire in one year, you should let customers know that.
Instructions	Enter any instructions that customers might need to know when purchasing gift certificates. The instructions will be displayed above the form for purchasing a gift certificate.
Policy	Explain any store policies related to gift certificates, such as expiration dates or shipping charges for printed certificates. ShopSite will not let customers use a gift certificates to purchase more gift certificates -- you might want to include that in your store’s policies.
Link
Gift Certificate Link	This provides an HTML anchor tag that you can copy onto custom pages or store pages that do not have a template-generated link to the gift certificate order form.