Lora's Beauty Website


For handcrafted soap visit the online store or the Etsy Store!

Lora's artisan soaps, an affordable luxury.

Friday, April 27, 2012

Mobile Redirect in Google Sites

I spent some time today creating a mobile site for Lora's Beauty and I wanted to share something I found today.

First off, you may notice if you go to Lora's Beauty on a non-mobile device you will get a link to shop using Paypal. However, if you go to Lora's Beauty on a mobile device you will be shown a Google store and payments will be made using Google Wallet/Checkout. I did this not to make my life complicated, although it does because now I need to maintain inventory in two places, but to better serve my customers. I've heard from a number of people that they prefer to use Paypal. I've also heard that a lot of people don't want to create a Google login (it's hard to believe that anyone doesn't already have one). Paypal allows people to purchase using their own Visa/Mastercard WITHOUT logging in. People like this.

There's a big problem with the Paypal checkout, however. The buttons you create via their button creation method are not mobile friendly--at all. They don't work. You can fix this by digging into Paypal's API but you better know what you're doing. When you go to the mobile version of Lora's Beauty, you will need to checkout via Google Wallet/Checkout.

From a developer's perspective, Google Wallet/Checkout is WAY easier. Keeping track of inventory and product information is done in a spreadsheet. That's it. Update the spreadsheet and your website is updated. It also works on a mobile device with no special coding.

Having said all that, I did run into an issue on how to place a mobile redirect (code that would detect that someone was using a mobile phone and redirect them automatically to the mobile website) on my Google Site. There's plenty of javascript code on the web that will show you how to do it. The trouble is you need to place the code within the HEAD tags on your page. Google doesn't give you access to the HEAD tags. After much searching on the web, I found this Google Gadget. It worked perfectly!

Just thought I'd share and let me know if you have a better solution or have tried something else.

Wednesday, April 25, 2012

Truths about Sunscreen

It's that time of year again. Most of the US has had at least a few days of spring-like or even summer-like weather. As it begins to heat up, it's wise to think again about protection from the sun. Please read this before heading out. For an all-natural mineral sunscreen made with 15% zinc oxide checkout Lora's Beauty

Tuesday, April 24, 2012

Make It Yourself:Salt Spritzer for Hair

If you're looking for a way to get that tousled, wavy hair that shows you've spent your day at the beach swimming in salt water, then this spritzer is for you!
Mix:
4 oz Dead Sea Salt
1 T Sweet Almond Oil (or jojoba oil)
a few drops of your favorite essential oil.

Use your own spray bottle and add a tablespoon of the Salt Spritzer to 4 oz of warm water and shake. Spritz on hair until covered then scrunch hair with hands. Let hair dry naturally.
The salt and oil in this spritzer will help moisturize your hair and boost it's volume. It has also been claimed that Dead Sea Salt can prevent hair loss and promote the growth of new hair.

Thursday, April 12, 2012

Acne?


Just came across the interesting results of a study involving the herb thyme and acne. A thyme tincture has been shown to be more effective against acne than benzoyl peroxide, traditionally used in acne solutions. This is great news for people with acne. Benzoyl peroxide can be very drying and irritating to many people's skin.

Read more!

Tuesday, April 10, 2012

Lora's Beauty Now Accepts Paypal!

Additional Options

Lora's Beauty is now accepting paypal or you can purchase items with your credit card or using google checkout.

Take a look at the new paypal store and remember the sale on Lora's soaps made with cow's milk. Only $2.95 while supplies last and they're going fast!