Dev Update 11

Front-End Basket Overhaul

We have always known that there was an issue when it came to adding products to the basket on the website.
The issue wasn't functional, it all worked fine, it was the length of time it took to add the product.

This time delay was down to all the functionality crammed in behind the scenes, such as discounts (check to make they are still valid, auto-apply discounts that are applicable) and delivery (calculate delivery based on the amount of large format square-metreage there is in the basket). As well as getting the order and customer data.
It had to do an awful lot every time the basket changed. Because the parameters has changed everything needed to be re-calculated.
Some systems don't do this, they will only tell a customer that their discount is no longer valid when they go through the checkout process, or worse, they won't tell them at all and you are left with either having to honour an expired discount or potentially having a disgruntled customer on your hands.
The same goes for delivery, we are not fans of systems that calculate delivery at checkout, personally, I would rather know how much delivery is going to be before I check out - having said that, with free delivery being available on Venture Banners' products for orders placed through VB Media and TradePrint and Route1Print not charging separate delivery, the need for delivery options can start to be phased out if required.
Basically, it's doing a LOT! And this was what was causing the extended 'adding to basket' times.

We needed to make this quicker, so as to improve your customer's experience... it was no mean-feat, but we have!
We have reduced the time it takes to add to basket by about a third without compromising on an functionality.
We have created a better flow on both the front-end and at the API level so as to only perform certain actions when necessary as well as a slight difference in how certain data is stored.
All of this has made a massive improvement and there may even be more improvements to be made further down the line as we look at the structure of delivery options and alternatives for data storage.

Above is a demonstration of the speed increase of the update compared to the previous version.

Unfortunately, the logic implemented is not transferable to Version 2 sites.
All V2 sites will be migrated to V3 in due course but you are more than welcome to request an early upgrade. Simply email support@vb.media and we can schedule your migration across to the latest version