In any e-commerce site, the headaches that go along with customer accounts can be huge. Miva Merchant is no different. Customers face many hurdles with their accounts, but in many cases there are modules to help them cross those hurdles.

Forgotten Passwords and Usernames

Miva Merchant customers, like all of us, forget passwords. Some people don’t want to reuse passwords across sites for security reasons, but it’s hard to remember a different password for each site you visit. Miva Merchant comes with the built-in ability that lets customers have their passwords resent to them. But if they forget their username, there’s no way to recover it. A great addition that solves this problem is the Login / Username Lookup module from Sebenza.

This module adds the second form you see on this page, that asks a customer to enter his email address, and then emails them their username so they can login.

To make it even easier, let customers simply use either their username OR their email address to login. This is accomplished with the Email Address Login and UserName Lookup module from Emporium Plus. It’s very simple to install – just drop in the module and then change the field labels on your form so that customers know that they can use their email address. Here’s an example of a customized login form that uses this module:

Allowing Customers to Stay Logged In

Many customers would prefer not to have to log in each time they visit your store. The default behavior of Miva Merchant is to log customers out of their account when their basket expires. However, by setting a cookie on their computer, your store can automatically log them back in each time they return. This is accomplished with Remember Me by NetBlazon. Remember Me puts a checkbox on the account screen and login forms, and if the customer checks it, it sets a cookie on their computer. Then, when they come back, if the cookie is still there, they are automatically logged back into their account.

Welcome Your New Customers

It’s also a great idea to welcome your new customers, by sending an email when someone creates a new customer account. This email can contain their login information to help them remember it, and it also serves as a inbox-reminder of your store in general. You can do this by installing Welcome and Forgot Password Email by Sebenza. In addition to giving your store a welcome email, it also lets you customize the email that gets sent when a customer retrieves their lost password.