Pro_Page

4. Gifts – If you plan on offering gifts or greeting card templates, please go to the “Products” tab on your admin page and click on “Gifts and Templates.” Place a checkmark in the box next to “Allow customers to create Gifts & Templates,” and press “Update.”

5. Set up your products and gifts – On your admin page, click on “Products” and select “Default Price List.” Choose the products you want to offer by putting a checkmark in the “Use” checkbox on the far left. If you want this particular product to show in the top box of your shopping cart, select the “Quick Pics” box as well (you must select both the “Use” and “Quick Pics” checkboxes for the product to be listed at the top of the cart). Products that are only selected with the “Use” checkbox will show up under the category labeled “Other Sizes” in the shopping cart when a customer is checking out.

Enter the price you will be charging your customers in the “Price Customers Pay” field. Once you have customized this page, don’t forget to click “Update Products” at the bottom of the list to save these changes. To better assist you with setting up your prices, please visit our "Pro Pricing Page" on the RitzPix Pro Demo site. This will give you an idea of the break even prices and what costs you should set your prices to in order to make a profit.

6. Customize your Home page – On your admin page, go to the “Content” link and click on “Welcome Image.” You have 3 choices to customize your Welcome Image on your Home page: use the default Image, use your own photo or logo (431 pixels wide by 448 pixels high at 72 dpi), or enter custom HTML code.

To use the default image, just leave it as is.
If you choose to upload your own image, first size the image as specified above and save it to your desktop. Then select the middle option, “Click here if you already have a logo (or image) …” and press “Select.” On the next page, click “Here” to upload. Click on “Browse,” find your image, and then click “Upload.” This will load the image onto your site. Then, select the middle option again, press “Select,” and choose the correct image from the list.

In the “Content” area of the admin page, you can also add your company name or logo to the top of your Home page. This is entered by clicking on the “Dealer Logos” link. You can enter your name as text, drop in a logo (825 pixels wide by 73 pixels high at 72 dpi), or enter custom HTML code. Use the same routine described in the bullet point above to upload. After you have uploaded, you can click on the “View Site as Customer” link to view your changes.

NOTE: Use the “View Site as Customer” link anytime you want to see how your customers will view the site.

7. Settings – Let’s take a look at the customization that needs to happen in the “Settings” tab on your admin page. We already discussed the shipping options (see step 2); let’s look at the Pickup Options. Select the “Settings” tab, then select the “Pickup Options” link. This is where you customize your site so that you can control where your customer picks up their prints.

a. If you select only the “Allow Pickup at <your location>” option, you will receive an email from the lab telling you the prints are finished and you can pick them up. The customers will then come to you to get the prints.
b. If you select “Allow pickup at <lab>,” then the customer receives the Order Complete email and can pick up their prints at the lab.
c. If you leave both checkboxes cleared, customers will only be able to receive their prints through the mail.
d. And lastly, if you select both checkboxes, the customer will have the option to pick up from either you or your lab.
Once you make your selection, press “Update Pickup Locations.”

8. Watermarks – You will also need to customize your watermarks. Watermarks ensure your images are safe; we recommend you apply your copyright on your watermark (i.e., “Copyright <your name>”). On your admin page, select “Settings,” then “Edit Watermark.” Enter the watermark text, opacity, and angle, and press “Update” (see screen shots below for an example). Then, upload one sample image, preview it, and adjust the settings to fine tune the level of your watermark preference.

NOTE: Watermark settings need to be completed prior to uploading your images. Once photos are in your account, they cannot be readjusted from this field.

The screen shot below shows an example of the watermark created in the screen shot above.

9. B&W/Sepia – You have the option to offer B&W/Sepia to your customers. Go to the “Settings” tab and select “Black White and Sepia” to enable or disable this option for your customers. Some photographers allow this option, while others do not. It is your choice. To allow it, select the checkbox, and press “Update.”

10. Guestbook – You have the ability to control whether or not you want your customers to sign a guestbook on the way into your images, or allow them in without signing in. This depends on your workflow and philosophy. The advantage to making them sign in is that you can track who came into your site and email them at a later point for marketing purposes or other announcements. Also, it sets up an account for your customer, which allows them to put images in their shopping cart or “Favorites” album, leave the site, and return to those same images.

Guests that are allowed to proceed without signing in appear as anonymous in your records, and once they leave the site and return, they will need to start all over.

To control that option, go to the “Guestbook” tab on your admin page and select “Require Email.” If the checkbox is selected, you will be requiring your customers to sign in. If the checkbox is cleared, you are allowing customers to enter without signing in. Press “Update” when you make your selection.

11. Uploading images to your site:

a. On your admin page, click on “Login to Account.” You will now see the Home page of your site with 5 links on the left side.
b. Click on “Add Photos.”

c. The first time you upload images to your site, you will need to install our Uploader, which uses an Active‐X application. Follow the instructions for this one‐time installation.

d. Once the Uploader is installed, enter your new album name (or select an existing album to upload to) by pressing the “Change Album” link at the top of the upload screen.

e. Select your upload speed (Fastest, Fast, or Regular). Please note that Mac users will not see this option.

f. You will see your computer folders listed along the left in the upload screen. Choose the folder on the left, then select the specific images you want to upload on the right, and click “Send.” Your images will be uploaded to your site.

NOTE: To upload all images from a folder, use the “Select All” button on the upper right. Also note that the “Send” button will not be functional until at least one image is selected to upload.

12. Event settings – Once your new images have uploaded, click on “View Photos”

Select the album, and click on “Event Settings” to customize the settings for that album. You will need to designate whether or not this is “Private Event” (password protected; this is the default once you load an event), or “Public Event” (no password required). If this event is Private, you will need to assign an event code. This is the password that your customers will need to enter to get into this event. If your event is Public, you will need to mark it as public. When you define these settings, press “Update.”
While in the “Event Settings” screen, you can also create a personal message that is visible to customers on the Event sign in page.

If you have any questions about any of the functions and processes discussed in this Quick Start Guide, or if you have additional questions or concerns about your site, please don’t hesitate to contact a LifePics Technician. We are here to help you maximize your online photo business!