Archive for April, 2014

Roy Rubin Moves on from Magento

Posted by: Karen Wednesday, April 30th, 2014

Well, it’s been coming a while, and finally less than 2 weeks before Imagine Roy Rubin announces he is stepping down from Magento.

Roy, along with Yoav Kutner, first brought us the Magento platform back in 2007/2008, initially under the Varien company.  Since then it’s been a fast ride for many of us as we, along with them, have kept up with the frantic pace of growth of the Magento platform.  An eBay buyout back in 2011 left some of us worrying about its future, but here in 2014 we can see this is a platform that is definitely here for the long haul, thanks in large part to the great extensibility and flexibility it offers, and also in part due to the vision Roy and Yoav have had.

Thank You

I’d personally like to extend my deepest gratitude to Roy for all that he has done to aide and enable companies and developers such as WebShopApps in being able to participate in this great journey. We owe him and Magento itself a great deal, indeed for myself Magento completely changed my life, bringing me to live on American shores, giving me the passion and enthusiasm to step beyond my comfort zone and see my own vision for the future of shipping in commerce.  Without the support of people like Roy encouraging us to step up and to innovate and, more than that, believing in us, well, where would we be now?

It’s only natural that there comes a time the founder will want to move on. By their nature founders are innovators, they are creators, they are looking for the next big gig.  For someone like Roy who has spent many years in this space I’m sure it will be great for him to step out and enjoy the thrill of small startups again, to search for that next big ‘thing’.

Where does this leave us?

Where has our leader, our visionary gone? Is Magento falling apart, is the monolith which is eBay going to wave its corporate wand and try to stifle this great community that is full of people with a startup agile mentality.

I can only give my personal view on this. Which is actually I think this is a good move that it has been done before Imagine. Because now we can look forwards to the future of Magento, and this is our future, we are now in the driving seat here, all of us that run our own companies, its time for us to step up and be counted.  Magento is there, its a platform, it has a great reputation and great traction, its used by companies from the Mom and Pop store right up to the multi $100M organisations.  Roy has done his job. We now need to do ours.

What I would say is that in the type of community we are in we love figureheads, we like personalities, and we want to be in this exciting tech space where companies have a ‘face’.  So please Magento, all I ask is you keep it cool, you keep some personality and you keep your individuality. I recall saying a long time back to Matthew Mengerink – ‘Who do you want to be known as – the Apple of eCommerce or the Microsoft?’ I’d ask that again.

 

Three Reasons You Should Visit Us at Imagine

Posted by: Daniel Wednesday, April 30th, 2014

In just a few weeks the WebShopApps team is going to be setting up at Booth #60 in the Imagine eCommerce marketplace. Here are the top three reasons that you should stop by whether you’re a merchant, designer, developer, or just want to learn about the latest innovations in eCommerce shipping:

1. We’re Announcing some Exciting Stuff!

In 2008 we revolutionized Magento shipping with the release of our first extension, MatrixRate. In 2014 we’re doing it again. With ground-breaking partnerships and revolutionary product announcements this year is going to be one for the books. Watch this space and stop by our booth to join the revolution!

2. Meet our Team in Person!

We’re coming in full force to Imagine with 7 team members from 3 continents! Our team is friendly and knowledgable so, whether you’re a card-carrying techie, a business-savvy luddite, or somewhere in between, we’ll be glad to talk to you about the ever-evolving world of eCommerce shipping. Our mission is to make eCommerce shipping easier for merchants and developers, stop by and see what we can do for you!

3. We’ve Got Gifts!

We always come prepared with a few presents for those who stop by for a chat and we’re particularly excited about the one we’re bringing this year! We don’t want to give too much away just yet but we think it’ll help keep you running through the entire conference. Curious? You’ll just have to stop by and find out!

There’s plenty more reasons but we think these three are plenty. If you want to schedule a time to talk to one of our team members, contact us or just stop by Booth #60!

Royal Mail April 2014 Updates

Posted by: Josh Friday, April 4th, 2014

Logo of the Royal Mail

As of the 31st of March, 2014 the UK Royal Mail instituted changes to their rates and services. Information on the updated rates and services can be found on the Royal Mail website. While changes are not extensive, they do include lower shipping rates for Small Parcel shipments and a few changes to delivery types.

We have updated our Royal Mail Magento extension to reflect these changes. Our Royal Mail extension allows Magento customers in the UK to easily offer Royal Mail as a shipping option to their customers. Find more details, a live demo, and documentation on our Royal Mail extension page.

If you’re an existing customer who has purchased our Royal Mail extension within the past year, just send a message to support@webshopapps.com to receive an updated CSV file and instructions for updating your extension’s rates. If you would like additional support making this update, you are welcome to purchase a Silver Support package and send us an email to support@webshopapps.com and we’ll be glad to help you.