Support

March 18, 2015 at 10:20 pm

Sorry, I was on my way out when you wrote, Seth. I’ll try to answer your questions now.

I have a pretty small business (and yet it is my livelihood). So I might have around 30-35 students in an average month. Since making the upgrade from EE3 to EE4, I’ve seen that drop to maybe 3-5 students. So I don’t have much of a pool to ask about their registration experience. A more valuable poll would be to ask the people who either couldn’t or chose not to complete the registration process why they didn’t complete it.

One of the many, many things I dislike about EE4 is that I no longer receive automated emails saying that someone has completed the registration portion, yet hasn’t necessarily completed the payment portion yet. With EE3, I was keenly aware that someone had started the process, and I followed up with those who began, but did not finish. I sent emails to see if they forgot the last step, realized that they didn’t have their credit card with them, couldn’t complete the process because of work-related rules, or simply changed their mind about registering. In the vast majority of cases, however, they were having some difficulty making a payment through PayPal. Once I knew that, I could help them complete the process. But now, I haven’t the foggiest idea of why people aren’t following through and completing the registration process.

What I’m quite sure of is this: There were no changes in the local marketplace for CPR training and certification. There wasn’t a Wal-Mart-like business that came to town and crushed the competition. It’s not that kind of business. And it’s not an SEO problem. On the contrary, I’ve been working tirelessly to make the site more SEO-friendly. It’s not a matter of people not coming to the site. It’s purely a matter of them not following through in the same way as they did with EE3. I’ve also been working tirelessly to make the site easier and easier to navigate, giving visitors countless ways of getting to the same place, depending on how their individual mind works.

If I’m interpreting Google Analytics correctly, it looks like around 30%, more or less, make it to a registration page, and then they exit. I don’t know if that’s high or low, but it seems high to me. Once a person has come that far, it makes me wonder why they bailed out. I’ve run my own experiments and I always get through the process just fine (though I don’t normally make a payment, as it’s a hassle to make a credit card payment, then refund that payment, over and over again). My personal opinion is that the EE3 registration format/layout was more attractive and easier to interpret. If that is having some bearing on the customer experience, I have no way of gauging. But most people shopping on the Internet are in a hurry; if they can’t clearly understand the process, they’ll go somewhere else.

Because of the exact timing of the downturn in business, I’m quite certain that there is a problem somewhere in the registration process. It is a website problem, of that I am certain. Whether it’s Event Espresso, per se, or something related to Event Espresso, that’s what I can’t determine. So I need your help in determining where the problem(s) lies.

March 19, 2015 at 10:31 am

You have a great eye for detail, Tony. My eyes are hazel, but nowhere nearly as green as yours.

As I said, I’m not able to tell if the problem is Event Espresso, per se, or something related to the update. As you know, I’ve done a lot since the EE3 to EE4 update, all to bring my business back up to where it was before the update. I truly appreciate that you remember (or at least have good records of) what I have done.

Using the default parameters, under Event Espresso -> Registrations, out of 838 transactions, I see 77 “incomplete” registrations (all of them this month and last month). Then, using the default parameters, under Event Espresso -> Transactions, looking at March 19, 2005, to March 19, 2015, out of 793 transactions, I see 3 “abandoned” transactions, and I see 63 “failed” transactions (all of them, abandoned and failed, this month and last month).

That’s amazing to see! If I’m interpreting this correctly, that’s a huge amount of business down the drain. So where-oh-where is this breakdown happening? And what should I do now to fix it?

1) Should I delete WP Super Cache?
2) Should I reconfigure WP Super Cache?
3) Should I switch to W3 Total Cache?

I only added those plugins to speed up the pages. And, yes, I’ve been trying to force JavaScript to the bottom of the page, because all of the tools I’ve been using (GTmetrix, Google PageSpeed Insights and P3 – Plugin Performance Profiler) are telling me to do so. Are they all wrong?

4) Should I stop trying to appeal to them?

I’ve also added Yoast WordPress SEO to help me get back in the good graces of the almighty Google. Could that be hurting me rather than helping me?

5) Should I turn off my SEO plugin?
6) Should I switch to a different SEO plugin?
7) Should I not use an SEO plugin at all?

I’ve turned off Loco Translate and Quick Localization (Quick Localisation), because the word substitutions were slowing down the loading of my pages. In their place, I’ve been using the site-specific editing plugin that you and yours created for me. That seems to be working well, as far as I can tell (though I suppose that could be part of the problem, too). I’m going to paste the code that’s currently in there, if that’s helpful:

<?php
/*
Plugin Name: Site plugin for aslan-editing-plugin
Description: Site specific code for cpr-twincities.com
*/
/* Begin Adding Functions Below This Line; Do not include an opening PHP tag as this sample code already includes one! */
//* Change messaging for ticket to registration
function ee_change_ticket_messaging_registration( $translated, $original, $domain ) {
$strings = array(
‘View Details’ => ‘Choose This Class’,
‘Proceed to Payment Options’ => ‘Choose Payment Option’,
‘Available Tickets’ => ‘Available Registrations’,
‘Ticket Details’ => ‘Registration Details’,
‘Event’ => ‘Class’,
‘Events’ => ‘Classes’,
‘Upcoming Events’ => ‘Upcoming Classes’,
‘Event Location’ => ‘Class Location’,
‘Ticket’ => ‘Registration’,
‘Ticket’ => ‘Registration’,
‘Tickets’ => ‘Registrations’,
‘This ticket is required and must be purchased.’ => ‘Class registration is required and must be purchased.’,
‘Please note that a maximum number of %d tickets can be purchased for this event per order.’ => ‘Please note that a maximum number of %d registrations can be purchased for this class per order.’,
‘You need to select a ticket quantity before you can proceed.’ => ‘You need to select a quantity before you can proceed.’,
‘No tickets were added for the event.’ => ‘No registrations were added for the class.’,
‘Ticket Name and Description’ => ‘Class and Description’,
‘The following checkboxes allow you to use the above information for only the selected additional tickets/attendees.’ => ‘The following checkboxes allow you to use the above information for only the selected additional registrants/attendees.’,
‘In order to process your registration, we ask you to provide the following information.%1$sPlease note that all fields marked with an asterisk (%2$s) are required.’ => ‘In order to process your registration, we ask you to provide the following information. Please note that, although all fields marked with an asterisk (%2$s) are required, if you have only one phone, type N/A (for not applicable) into either the Home Phone or the Cell Phone field.’,
);
if ( isset( $strings[$original] ) ) {
$translations = get_translations_for_domain( $domain );
$translated = $translations->translate( $strings[$original] );
}
return $translated;
}
add_filter( ‘gettext’, ‘ee_change_ticket_messaging_registration’, 10, 3 );
//* Additional changes to messaging for ticket to registration
add_action( ‘FHEE__ticket_selector_chart_template__ticket_details_price_breakdown_heading’, ‘ee_additional_change_ticket_messaging_registration_a’ );
function ee_additional_change_ticket_messaging_registration_a() {
return ‘Registration Price Breakdown’;
}
//* Additional changes to messaging for ticket to registration
add_action( ‘FHEE__ticket_selector_chart_template__ticket_details_event_access_message’, ‘ee_additional_change_ticket_messaging_registration_b’ );
function ee_additional_change_ticket_messaging_registration_b() {
return ‘This registration allows access to the following class dates and times.’;
}
//* Additional changes to messaging for ticket to registration
add_action( ‘FHEE__registration_page_attendee_information__attendee_info_not_required_pg’, ‘ee_additional_change_ticket_messaging_registration_c’ );
function ee_additional_change_ticket_messaging_registration_c() {
return ‘This registration type does not require any information for additional attendees, so attendee #1\’s information will be used for registration purposes.’;
}
//* Additional changes to messaging for ticket to registration
add_action( ‘FHEE__registration_page_attendee_information__auto_copy_attendee_pg’, ‘ee_additional_change_ticket_messaging_registration_d’ );
function ee_additional_change_ticket_messaging_registration_d() {
return ‘The above information will be used for any additional registrants/attendees.’;
}
//* Additional changes to messaging for ticket to registration
add_action( ‘FHEE__ticket_selector_chart_template__ticket_details_total_price’, ‘ee_additional_change_ticket_messaging_registration_e’ );
function ee_additional_change_ticket_messaging_registration_e() {
return ‘Total Price’;
}
/* Stop Adding Functions */

I may be giving you more information than you need. But, since I have no idea where the breakdown is, I’d rather give you too much than too little.

It’s my birthday, by the way. I’m going to try to ignore work for the rest of the day. But tomorrow I’ll be back at it. Hopefully you’ll have some advice waiting for me by then.

March 19, 2015 at 4:05 pm

Here are the instructions from WP Super Cache:

Add here strings (not a filename) that forces a page not to be cached. For example, if your URLs include year and you dont want to cache last year posts, it’s enough to specify the year, i.e. ’/2004/’. WP-Cache will search if that string is part of the URI and if so, it will not cache that page.

And here is what I have entered in that box:

wp-.*\.php
index\.php
/events/
/registration-checkout/
/transactions/
/thank-you/
/registration-cancelled/
/register

… with no backslash after “register,” as I was instructed. Does all that look correct to you? Am I missing anything?

March 20, 2015 at 4:23 pm

I switched from WP Super Cache to W3 Total Cache today. Without having to add the following anywhere, it seems to be working:

/events/
/registration-checkout/
/transactions/
/thank-you/
/registration-cancelled/
/register

I don’t know where else to look for reasons for the sudden drop in business. All I know is that it’s got to be a technical problem, not a drastic change in the market. I’ve been in business for myself for too long (and grew up in a business family) to believe anything otherwise. So if you have any other suggestions for where to look for a glitch in the system, why people are coming to the site, but then abandoning their registration efforts, I’d sure appreciate it. By the way, I just turned the check and invoice options back on a few days ago, hoping to capture some business that I know I’ve been losing while I’ve had PayPal Standard as my only payment option.

As to my comment about appearance and usability of EE3 vs. EE4, I know it’s all subjective. But I truly believe that the Events Calendar Table Template in EE3 was more attractive and, more importantly, easier for people in a rush to use than the current display of events.

March 20, 2015 at 8:11 pm

I see three incomplete transactions from you. There’s also one test transaction from my brother. What’s curious is that the one from him has a lock icon, as if he’d made a payment. And that’s what I get, although inconsistently, when I make test registrations, even though I haven’t made a payment. So that’s another thing I’d like to remedy, assuming that it can be remedied.

I’ve been wondering if the problem could reside on the PayPal website (as, until a few days ago, that was the only payment option I was offering). My wife ran a test last night, registering and paying for a class with a credit card. And everything went as it should. And I did the same a few days ago, and it went fine for me.

My business is at the top of the unpaid listings on Google, so SEO is not the problem. I’m just clueless about what’s causing paid sign-ups to suddenly — and I do mean suddenly — drop at the very same time as I upgraded from EE3 to EE4. If it’s not Event Espresso, I apologize for taking up so much of your time. But I absolutely need to track down the source of the problem, because it’s not going to get any better until it’s resolved.

March 20, 2015 at 9:47 pm

Your tests are all listed as “Registration Status : Pending Payment.” And your made-up details are listed on each registration.

My brother’s test is listed as “Incomplete.” The “Transaction Total” is $69.00. The “Payments Total” is $0.00. No payment was made. So why is it that it’s displayed with a lock, as the info balloon says that a lock means a payment has been made? This has been true in most, but not all, of the tests that I’ve run, too.

March 23, 2015 at 7:36 am

It looks quite similar to what you showed in your screenshot:

Event Espresso – Transactions
View Transaction Overview Reports

Transaction # 1861

Friday March 20, 2015 7:04:00 pm

Send Payment Reminder
Transaction Status: Incomplete

Total Amount Due: $ 69.00

Shouldn’t it say “Complete” and either zero or at least fewer dollars than the total amount, to warrant having the lock icon displayed?

Tony, I’d be very happy to have you look for anything that might be amiss in my EE setup. I’ll send you the temporary login details shortly.