Getting to know our new website

1) Why browsing the catalog has to be in https? It slow things down and is totally unnecessarily. Do we has to protect the transmission of catalog item information? Sugguest switch to https only after the shopper hits the 'checkout' button.

2) After we hit the checkout button, we are redirected to the payment gateway. At least the shopper should be given a redirection notice, a popup may be, as to where he is heading. There is nothing. All of a sudden I am speaking to 'mira'. What if the redirection is hijacked? How do I do know that 'opus' knows 'mira'. A better way is to integrate it into opus's web site. Redirection like this is common only in the early days of online shopping when payment gateway implemenation was still developing.

I just find it strange that this is the way that Opus website operates since 2006.

Great questions, and thanks for the feedback. Whether complimentary or critical, we always appreciate it.

I have checked in with our IT support on your question about the http vs the https. Apparently you are correct that https is slightly slower than http, however I have been assured that the overall difference is moderate.

FYI: The reason we use https is our store actually draws data from two sources in order to display information. It pulls from one source for static information (such as pictures and copy about products) and from another for customer information and pricing (so that it is current and up-to-date from our POS system). As a result, when someone logs in they can then see their personal information and pricing. As some of this is sensitive information, such as personal data, that is why we need to have the https rather than plain text in order to ensure that information does not remain visible after a login. Basically it’s a case of building the site for the (protection of) people logged in vs. the average browser who may just be visiting. Hope that helps explain it.

In terms of the security issue and why we redirect you, the Mirapay site is actually far more secure than if we were to host payment options here at Opus. This includes their encryption of credit card information and an additional secure sockets layer to prevent ‘hijacking’. Basically that means we have a 'portal' between them and us which is specifically, and literally, like a 'socket' connection so that we are linked to each other and nobody else. It's sole purpose is to prevent third-party interception.

As well, Mirapay holds sensitive credit card information on their site and server rather than us, as a merchant, holding this information – as I am sure you have heard from other cases in the news, some merchants holding this information have subsequently experienced issues with their internal security and that has compromised their customers' personal details. In our case, that would not be possible because we do not house any of your information. And this is actually becoming more of a common practice to have third-party payment systems as it is all about protecting consumers. There is actually a global council which governs PCI compliance to protect consumers and their rules are part of why this is the case. You can check out their site for further information if you are interested: https://www.pcisecuritystandards.org/

As for the other question about redirecting you to another payment gateway and the need for a pop-up explaining that, I think you have a really good point and I will definitely look into that and see what can be done to make this clearer and less visually jarring. If you do place an order online with us however, the Mirapay site does indicate Opus’ name at the top once you are re-directed and your order confirmation will also state the name of the merchant, in this case Opus, so that you can be sure of our relationship.

And yes, believe me, our goal is to provide a seamless shopping experience and a more ‘contemporary’ feel. With our recent changes we are just now beginning a process of redesigning our website to work towards improvements that will do this. Our online store is scheduled for ‘stage 3’ of that process as there is quite a bit of programming and work involved. We will get there though, it’s just that it won’t happen right away as we are a relatively modest company. You know… time, resources, priorities and people power!

Thank you again for your question, it’s truly great to get this kind of interactive feedback and I really hope that I have given you the answers you are after.... albeit a bit long-winded. It just goes to show that they were good questions!

best regards,
Nadine

Dear Nadine,

Thank you so much for a detailed explanation. I do like the improvement of the frontpage for better site navigation. Plus the use of ajax with jquery for interactivity. :-)

Going back to the fundamentals:

1) Re https. There are a lot of variables apart from the server side. I would suggest the IT people to take a look of www.leevalley.ca. A different business with a similar, but better online implementation.

2) Re payment gateway. I guess a better way of putting it is that the secure connection between opus and mira should be transpanent to the end user. It is kind of accepted best practice in the online shopping world. Guess I should skip the details here but anyway it is not that difficult to implement.

Of course, a redirection is much more simple to implement. But in this case, a notice of some sort is needed. As the very least, just simple courtesy. It could be even better if the ip address of the destination payment processing server is provided as well.

As to the problem of introduction, 'mira' should be introduced by 'Opus', since I know 'Opus'; not 'mira' claims to know 'Opus' after the fact, i.e., redirection. Because 'mira' could be impersonated.

Thank you for your attention. Opus is alway a nice place to shop.

Best regards,

Sam

Once again, thank you Sam, you have some great points and we'll keep plugging away. And yes, I like Lee Valley too! Great reference.
I hope you will continue to enjoy shopping with us as well.

cheers,
Nadine

Just wanted to say, the new website is absolutely stunning. Kudos to whoever designed it!