OUR NEW WEBSITE IS HERE!

Sunny Caribbee, now celebrating 29 years of business in the British Virgin Islands, and on behalf of the Management and staff, is proud to announce the launch of a new online store; our newly rebuilt e-commerce website.

Over the last few years, we have come to understand and appreciate that we must evolve with the changing economic and technological times. It became clear that our old website, which we operated for over 15 years, was outdated and lacking standard features of a great online store. We accepted that it ran its course and needed a major upgrade.

Our new website (www.sunnycaribbee.com), which was built from the ground up, features a streamlined design and easy to navigate storefront, while bringing all of the information our users need about Sunny Caribbee right to their fingertips.

Below, we have outlined all of the major features of our new website:

Navigation & Layout

• The layout and design of our navigation is in-keeping with common e-commerce website practices internationally:

1. All major links are located on the home page (top, left and bottom) and remain visible when navigating the entire website, even in the shopping cart
2. Clicking the logo brings the user to the home page
3. Pages are designed using modern & current markup language
4. Users can navigate products by clicking the product categories on the left navigation bar under “Our Products” or by clicking the a product type under “Shop by Product Type”, also on the left navigation bar.
5. Scrolling images on the home page features specials, product photos and useful information for customers.
6. Featured Items – a list of featured products appear on the home page and each product category.
7. Recently Viewed Items – an automated list of products the user previously viewed appears on the homepage, on each category page and each product page
8. Shopping Cart & Checkout – A link to the shopping cart appears conveniently and very clearly at the top right of each page
9. Active Links – Most active links change color on a mouse-over action
10. Large Product Photo – To view a larger size of each product photo, move the mouse over the photo and it will enlarge automatically
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Social Networking Integration

• Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and Email services are integrated with our new website.  Users can share content from our website with their social networks with the click of a button. These buttons are located on each product page and blog post. Links to Sunny Caribbee’s social networking pages (Facebook, Twitter, etc.) are located on the bottom of the website pages. Users can now:

1. “Like” products or blog posts. Clicking the “Like” button also shares the product or blog post on the user’s Facebook page. The Facebook integration shows the user which of their Facebook friends previously liked the product or blog post. Users are given an option to add a personal comment on the liked post on their Facebook page.
2. “Tweet” products or blog posts. Clicking the “Tweet” button shares the product or blog post on the user’s Twitter page.
3. “Pin” products or blog posts. Clicking the “Pin” button shares the product or blog post on the user’s Pinterest page.
4. A Facebook social plugin is located in the left navigation that allows users to “Like” Sunny Caribbee’s Facebook page without leaving the website
5. Our Facebook page features a coupon when visitors “Like” the page. This coupon can be used for discounts on our website or can be printed for discounts in our store.

Customer Accounts & Order History

• Our website maintains customer records and once a user creates an account during checkout, they are given a log-in name and password. With these log-in credentials, users with accounts can:

1. Check the status of orders in progress
2. Track shipped orders (using a tracking number that is inputted to their account)
3. Check their order history (a list of all past orders).
4. Shop and Checkout quickly by log-in in, as the website will fill in their shipping information automatically
5. Update their contact information
6. Once a customer is signed into their account, their name appears under the “Your Account” area in the left navigation pane until they sign out.
7. IMPORTANT:  Customers with accounts on our previous website must create new accounts on our current website. Unfortunately, we were unable to migrate accounts from our old website to the new one.
   

Categories and Product Pages

• There are currently 15 categories of products and over 850 individual product SKUs listed on the website. There is an additional category called “All Products”, which features all available products in alphabetical order. Features of the category and product pages:

1. Clicking a category in the left navigation pane takes the user to a collection of products within the category clicked
2. Category pages feature a brief description of the types of products included in the collection
3. A thumbnail of each product is visible in the category page
4. If the category page is more than one page long, page numbers appear at the top and bottom right of the category page for additional navigation
5. A list of subcategories appear at the top of the category page for additional navigation
6. The total number of products in the category page is listed at the top left of the category page
7. Clicking on a product photo or name takes the user to that product page
8. Moving the mouse over the product photo enlarges it
9. Product pages feature product names and descriptions, packaging options and links to go to the next or previous product in the same category
10. Related Items are listed on each product page below the opened product
11. Clicking “Add to Cart” adds the product to the shopping cart – a notification appears at the top right of the page to confirm the product was added to the shopping cart. While adding the product to the cart, the “Add to Cart” button changes to “Adding”. Once added, the button then changes to “Added” for about 3 seconds before changing back to “Add to Cart”.
12. A search box at the top right of the page allows customers to search for products or product types or product tags.

Checkout & Payment Options

• A major aspect of our rebuild, was to create the ability to offer additional payment options. All of our payment options are listed below:

1. Paypal – Users can pay by using their Paypal account (which is usually linked to their bank account, credit card or debit card)
2. Credit Cards – We accept:  Visa, MasterCard, American Express, JCB, Maestro, Diners Club International and more. Some credit cards are not available as payment options for certain geographical locations of the customer. However, all major credit cards are always available as payment options.
3. Moneybookers – Users can pay by using their Skill/Moneybookers account (which is usually linked to their bank account, credit card or debit card)
4. Money Order – Users can mail in their money order payment
5. Call in Credit Card Payment – Although our website is fully secured, we allow customers who are overly concerned about security to call in their payment information.
6. In-Store Payment – This option allows local customers or customers visiting the BVI to order online and visit our store to collect and pay for their order
7. Clicking the logo brings the user to the home page
8. During checkout, customers can either sign in to their previously created account or checkout as a guest
9. After checking out as a guest, customers are given the option to create an account on our website

Shipping & Delivery

• Shipping has always been a major challenge for our export business and we continue to work on fine-tuning it to offer an efficient and economical service to our customers overseas. Shipping options on our website:

1. USPS Priority Mail – Estimated delivery time – 7-14 business days
2. Federal Express Priority
3. BVI Post – To Canada and other International/Worldwide locations
4. In-Store Pickup – Local customers can order on our website, pay online and pickup the packaged order in our store
5. Delivery – For a limited time, we will offer delivery to customers located in Tortola with a minimum order of $25.00.
6. Other options available on request – DHL, UPS, other USPS services such as Express Mail.

Customer Support

• Our new website empowers our customer support team with powerful tools for meeting all the needs of our customers:

1. Dashboard provides details on customer problems
2. Tools present to assist customers complete orders successfully
3. Tools to communicate with customers
4. Contact us form
5. Sign up for our Newsletter box at the bottom of page

Device and Internet Browser Compatibility

• Our research of the growing e-commerce market revealed that a large percentage of online shoppers utilize mobile devices for ordering. Our website has been designed for compatibility with all major internet browsers and mobile devices. Compatibility has been tested and confirmed for the following browsers and devices:

1. PC & Mac Browsers – Internet Explorer, Opera, Firefox, Safari, Google Chrome, and other 3^rd party browsers
2. Mobile Devices – iPhone, iPad, Blackberry, Android devices, etc.

Newsletters, Recipes and Blogs

• We are always seeking ways to get information, free recipes and BVI news to our customers. Our new website features:

1. Our Monthly Newsletters – Links appear in the left navigation pane
2. Our FREE recipes page – link appears at the top of the page

Other Pages

• Other pages on our new website:

1. Order history
2. Our Locations
3. Frequently Asked Questions – FAQ
4. About Us
5. Our Story
6. Affiliates
7. Privacy Policy
8. Today’s Specials
9. Gift Certificates
10. What’s New
11. Your Account

Our new website continues to be a work in progress and there are many more features that assist us in the back-end, that are too numerous to mention.  Thanks for your support as we hope you enjoy our new website.

Put Some Spice in Your Life!

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Learn more about Sunny Caribbee Spice Shop & Art Gallery at www.sunnycaribbee.com and shop 24 hours a day with shipping right to your door. Share our post with your friends and like our Facebook Page for a special discount coupon redeemable on our website or in our two Spice Shops.