With this extension you can easily enable your customers to refer friends to your store. In return, reward the referrers with percentage or flat discounts.

Today we’d like to present you the updated Refer a Friend extension version 1.4.3 that will help store owners benefit from viral advertising.

The following bugs have been fixed in Refer a Friend v.1.4.3:

• ‘Per customer’ rule does not work
• Incorrect title in edit rule menu
• Fatal error during installation
• Incorrect discount calculation if there are two rules related to signups quantity
• ‘Per order trigger limit’ option is visible for rules related to signups quantity

Learn more about all extension features or run the extension demo on the Refer a Friend page.

With a bunch of great improvements implemented recently, there are more reasons for the Refer a Friend Magento module to be a ‘must-have’ plugin.

New Features:

• Give a bonus to the invited customer
  Now you can reward not only the referrer, but give discounts to the customer who makes a purchase after being invited by another customer, or for any other activity on your website.

• Ability to calculate purchase amount as ‘item price’ or ‘item price + tax’
  Define the way the purchase amount will be calculated: item price only, regardless of tax, or total amount.

• Specify the redirection link after one has followed the referrer’s link
  If you have a ‘Welcome page’ for newcomers or you want them to visit a certain page, just put in the page URL in the Redirect to field. The user will be redirected to the specified page after clicking the referred link.

• Ability to stop further rules processing and disable any rule
  Besides the already existent possibility to define the rule priority, Refer a Friend 1.4 version for Magento allows the store owners to stop further rules processing. This means that only the current rule will be applied if your conditions are met. Stock up, enable or disable multiple rule types as the need arises.

• Invitation form improvement
  The invitation form has become more intuitive. Now the referrer can see not only the invitation text but also the message that there is no need to insert the broadcast link (or any other link) in the invitation form. It is added to the message automatically after the invitation is send.

• Multistore support
  The updated version of the Refer a Friend extension allows you to select multiple websites where the rule will be applied.

The following bugs have been fixed in Refer a Friend 1.4 version:

• script in referrals name executed on the referrer page
• discount is lost after rule is deleted
• incorrect calculation if discount is more than subtotal
• customers can have a discount from refunded orders
• new rules are applied to the existent signups
• custom SMTP compatibility
• setup optimization
• incorrect message on the customer Account page
• incorrect discount calculating
• the “Discount amount is greater than” rule works incorrectly
• canceled order doesn’t return used discount
• wrong work of some rules
• wrong URL in the email if HTTPS is enabled on the frontend page
• rule modifying causes change of the earned discount
• problem with notifications sending
• wrong statistics

We are also happy to release the revised Refer a Friend User Guide which introduces you to the main module configuration and gives the detailed examples of different rules creation:

• how to get 5% off for 7 signed up friends
• how to get $10 off for 5 purchased items made by all referred friends
• how to get a $20 discount for the purchased amount of $500 made by each referral
• how to give 5% off for the first referral purchase
• how different rules are triggered depending on the rule priority

Run the product demo to test the new implemented features or download the Refer a Friend User Guide right now from the extension page!

Now you can set the “1″ value in this new field and only the first purchase of each invited friend will bring in a discount to referrer.

The following bugs have been fixed in Refer a Friend v.1.3.3:

• Sorting doesn’t work at Refer a Friend Statistics page
• Incorrect extension disabling
• Discount is displayed incorrectly on checkout in Magento 1.4
• Compilation causes fatal errors in Magento 1.4
• Incorrect window title in backend in Magento 1.4

Please find more information about this aheadWorks extension on the Refer a Friend page.

• Store crash while installation
• Wrong total number of records in admin statistics
• Incorrect rules applying
• Invite button style returned

To find more information about this smart piece of software that helps you boost your business, please visit the Refer a Friend page.

For those who haven’t heard about/ used this product, let’s just say that it is a smart piece of software that will help you benefit from a combination of viral and affiliate marketing (without launching a conventional affiliate program!). Read complete details on Refer a Friend.

Refer a Friend has been a hugely popular product – to the best of our knowledge, there’s no comparable extension in the market- and with today’s enhancements, we reckon it will differentiate it even further.

Here’s a quick summary of some of the most important enhancements:

Added a new action type
Offer customers discounts/ commissions based on a % of the purchase value of their referrals. Previously, you could offer only a fixed sum or fixed percentage to your customers for referrals. Quite simply, this should incentivize your customers to refer more friends, as the more the parties referred by them buy, the more they benefit.

Ability to broadcast the referral link
Not only can customers earn more per referral, they now have the opportunity to generate more referrals. Besides broadcasting the referral link by e-mail, they can choose to publish it online on their website or a blog post (why, they could add these links on their social networking profiles!).

New rule conditions related to order volume and size of discount
You can set a condition to allow customers to use the referral discount only if the order value is greater than a certain sum and/or the total discounts they are entitled to is more than a specified value. Such rules will help you ensure that the referral program is always a profitable proposition for you.

Dynamic explanatory label for greater clarity of the rules
The last thing we want is for the rules and options to make it confusing for you to understand and manage. Therefore, we provide this ‘dynamic explanatory label’ that interprets the (complex) logic/rules and presents it in a simple language every time a field is updated.

Some examples of how the labels would read are given below:

• This rule gives $10 discount after reaching $40 total referral purchases
• The rule checks this condition by summarizing purchases of each referral.
• The discount can be earned 4 times by a referrer accumulating discount sum
• The earned discount can be used 1 time(s), only if the order total is greater than $100 and can be applied together with a coupon

Ability to allow/block additive discounts
You can now allow/forbid your customers from using a referral discount together with a shopping cart coupon or any other promotional offers/ discounts.

Allows same person to be referred by different customers
This means that a customer is not prevented from referring someone who has been referred by somebody else as well. Of course, who gets the referral discount depends on whose invitation the recipient chooses to act upon to make a purchase.

Personalization of the referral message
The standard message template is sent when a customer refers friends contains the referrer’s name. We believe this will help increase the e-mail open and clickthrough rates.

Triggers limit for each action type
You can set limits to the number of times every rule is triggered. For example, say, you have a rule to “give 10% off for 3 sign-ups”. If the trigger limit is set as 1, the discount can be earned only once, while if the trigger limit is set as 2, then the customer is entitled to 20% discount when he generates 6 sign-ups from referrals.
Previously, we had trigger limits only for 2 of the 3 action types; these limits are now available for all action types.

Processing priority default value
Default priority values will be inserted when creating a new rule in the interface, so that you don’t have to enter it each time.

“Eligible for discount” field in the customer area

Improved look to the referrers page for the admin

Besides all the new and improved features, we have taken care of some of the outstanding bugs in the previous version. These include:

• The “Cancel” button is now functioning in Google Chrome and Safary
• Return discount on non-completed orders
• HTTPS problem with AJAX invitation form
• Hardcoded button titles
• Unregistered referral has non-zero number of items purchased and total
• Deprecated Prototype notation

We hope you like the new features. Do feedback with your comments or questions. We are all ears to your inputs.

• HTTPS backend
• Discount usage

To get more information about Refer a Friend please visit the extension page.

• Behavior in some multi-store configurations fixed
• “Cannot add to cart” error for referrer, after a purchase with a discount had been made
• Discount usage limit for values over 1 worked incorrectly
• Complex combined discount rules (percent + fixed amount) were displayed wrong under some circumstances on the checkout

We strongly recommend to upgrade.

Find more information about the extension on the Refer a Friend Magento page.

You can download the Refer a Friend User Guide in the PDF format on the extension page.

New Extensions

Minimum Advertised Price

The minimum price set by the manufacturer isn’t the bottom line any more! With the Minimum Advertised Price extension by aheadWorks you can sell products at the price you want.

Suppliers and retailers quite often stipulate the lowest price an item is allowed to be advertised at. But sometimes in-store prices can be really lower than allowed by the suppliers, but may not be displayed in online advertising. The Minimum Advertised Price extension helps you to escape the conflicts with the manufacturers and sell products at the prices you wish.

Minimum Advertised Price adds a special Check Price button instead of the product price. Having clicked this button, you add an item to the shopping cart, and only then the required price becomes visible.

Some features are:

• Fast loading AJAX layer
• Completely configurable layer text, images and buttons
• Configurable independent category/search/product page views
• Supports direct HTML embedding
• Fully customizable buttons and actions
• Ability to include any content that Magento CMS can involve
• 100% meets Minimum Advertised Price implementation standards
• Comes with detailed setup and configuration documentation

To learn the whole list of Minimum Advertised Price features please visit the extension page.

Advanced Reviews

A highly customizable Magento review system – Advanced Reviews by aheadWorks Co. – significantly improves the functionality and importance of this one of the most powerful online marketing tools.

According to Avenue A/Razorfish “Digital Consumer Behavior Study”, a review is #1 resource for product research. 86% of the consumers read online reviews before making purchasing decisions. The Advanced Reviews extension enlarges the functionality of native Magento solution.

Features:

• Possibility to restrict adding reviews to logged in customers only
• Review helpfulness rating
• Helpfulness voting can be restricted to logged in customers only
• Configurable ability to allow adding reviews to customers who bought the reviewed product only
• Social bookmarks bar for sharing reviews
• Report abuse feature – let your visitors inform you about inappropriate reviews
• Pros and Cons list configurable by admin, can be set up per store
• Customer-defined Pros and Cons
• “Would you recommend this product to a friend?” block

To observe the whole list of features please visit the Advanced Reviews page.

Updated Extensions

Please don’t forget to check complete changelog on the product pages.

Refer a Friend

The buzz marketing module Refer a Friend stimulates your customers to invite their friends to your shop. The customers, who referred a certain number of friends, get a % or flat rate discount. You can set any conditions and if they are met, the rule is triggered and the referrer is qualified for a discount. Both sides win – the customer gets a discount and the store owner gains more clients and more benefit.

Current version: 1.2.1
Upgrade: recommended from any previous versions
Upgrade cost: free for all versions
What’s new:
   + Discount usage limit
   + Limitation per rule execution
   * HTTPS links in secure customer areas
   * IE8 behavior
   * Invitation without being logged in
   * Storecode fix in some multistore configurations
   * Some strings weren’t available for translation
   * Under some circumstances, referrer could not add products to cart
   * Priority works more obviously

Find more information on the product page.

Z-Blocks

Z-Blocks extension allows creating unlimited number of static blocks and content items.

Current version: 2.0.3
Upgrade: recommended from any previous versions
Upgrade cost: free for all versions
What’s new:
   + ‘Show in subcategories’ block option added
   * ACL fix
   * Product with empty category page crash fix
   * SQLSTATE[42S02]: Base table or view not found: 1146 MySQL error fix
   * Product More Views page crash fix

To observe Z-Blocks features please visit the extension page.

AJAX Cart Pro

AJAX Cart Pro extension removes annoying page reloads on add to cart and delete from cart user actions. Items are added instantly with animation effects.

Current version: 1.4.5
Upgrade: recommended from any previous versions
Upgrade cost: free for all versions
What’s new:
   + Cross operation of “www.domain” and “domain” support
   + Default, blank and modern themes support
   + Easy custom configuration (custom.js)
   * More stable work
   * Out of stock products fixed
   * IE6 is not supported any more

To observe AJAX Cart Pro features please visit the extension page.

RSS Reader

RSS Reader is the software for organizing and displaying RSS feeds. This data exchange solution was thoroughly adapted by aheadWorks Co. for Magento-based stores. Now you can install RSS Reader onto your online store and display the news interesting for your visitors.

Current version: 1.2.0
Upgrade: recommended from any previous versions
Upgrade cost: free for all versions
What’s new:
   * Magento caching enabled fix

Find more information on the RSS Reader page.

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That was a brief review of our new and updated modules. We are always happy to get all kinds of feedback. If you need a new feature in our product – just let us know – it has good chances to be implemented.

Thank you for being with us and good luck to your business,
Sincerely yours,
aheadWorks Magento department

• Some strings weren’t available for translation
• Under some circumstances, referrer could not add products to cart
• Priority works more obviously

This is a minor bug fixing release but we recommend to upgrade.

Find more information about the Refer a Friend extension on the product page.