To run an e-commerce business successfully, Carmen needs a web content management system (Web CMS) to:
• organize and present information about her products and services through a consistent user interface
• provide e-marketing
• interface data from the central database
• provide secure access to customers to view and upload files
• provide an e-commerce facility (with a shopping cart service).
However, there are technical requirements that Carmen must meet whether she chooses a free or commercial Web CMS. She will need:
• a domain name
• a hosting account – one of the more popular configurations includes:
- MySQL database management system (DBMS)
- PHP / other scripting language
- Linux operating system
- Apache web server
• a shopping cart system – purchased or open source
• a payment merchant account
• SSL-encrypted web site pages.
User interface
Successful businesses use a standard appearance and structure for their web sites and documents. Carmen must ensure that all the web pages have a consistent appearance. She is considering whether to use commercial or open source software to develop the web site.
Database and applications
Underpinning any e-business there is always a database. In this case, it holds details of customers, products and orders. As with any other database, it is best managed with a DBMS, which provides applications with an interface to the underlying data. A DBMS will also prevent unintentional data corruption. MySQL is a widely used DBMS that can be accessed by many programming languages such as PHP. Many shopping cart services and other web-based applications are written in PHP interfacing with MySQL.
E-commerce with shopping cart
In order to sell products or services from a web site, Carmen will need to set up a shopping cart. This can be implemented through a third party web site or run from her own web site. Hosting your own shopping cart is generally seen as a much more affordable solution and involves a number of challenges. However, running a shopping cart through a third party web site will also have its share of challenges.
1. Steps to register a domain name:
a) Visit an official internet registrar. Where to register is up to the business. Examples of internet registers include GoDaddy.com and Dotser.com
b) Enter a name/phrase you wish to register for your domain which follows the name length and format allowed. When choosing a name, make sure to:
- Keep it Relatively Short. Short domain names are easier to remember/type into a browser.
- Make it Unique. Unique names are easy to remember.
- Include Keywords. Including keywords will help produce the most hits for your business in search engines.
- Use dot Com. Although there are many different domain extensions the majority of internet users either don't know that or instinctively type .com.
c) Make sure the name is not taken.
d) Register for the domain name
e) Pay the filling fee based on the instructions given by the website
2. Carmen should register her domain name as they are unique. She cannot register the same domain name as another website. The first person to register a domain name is the only person that can use it unless they sell the domain name back to the market. This means that if someone else registers your domain name before you do, you will not be able to use it- you may get to use a ".net" or ".org" variation but ".com" attracts the most traffic.
Set up a Hosting Account
3. A programming model, LAMP, is used to set up a hosting account. Its main components are as follows:
Linux OS: It is a free open source operating system that provides good security for Apache HTTP servers.
Apache HTTP server: A free common open source web server that plays playing a key role in the initial growth of the World Wide Web.
MySQL DBMS: An online database software often used with PHP and is used to store all sorts of information due to speed and reliability of its database features.
PHP/Python/Perl: These are programming languages used to produce dynamic web pages. PHP is the most common programming language, however Python and Perl act similarly to it.
4.Database management systems (DBMS) are a set of programs which allows users to read/write and access databases. Databases utilize DBMS to help organize, store, retrieve and alter data within its database. Newer DBMS systems allow a much more diverse operating environment including running applications as well as read/write capabilities.
5. Carmen Hosting her own website
Advantages
Disadvantages
More control and flexibility; managing all aspects of your own
web site.
No technical support
New skills can be acquired.
If website is not "https"; customers may not want to input their
credit card info. knowing its not secure
Can promote your own brand name.
Extra costs; if she's not so techy, she will need to hire
experienced employees to manage her website for her
Managing Security
Loses services by hosting companies, e.g. backups and technical support
Availability; most cases, data center's Internet connectivity are usually
better than broadband connection
Choosing an ISP to host her site:
Advantages
Disadvantages
Availability; Internet connectivity are usually
better
No total control over own website
Provides backups; won't need to provide your own back up
therefore saves time and money
Potential security risk if something goes wrong with the ISP company
You can focus on main core of business objective rather than
adding another responsibility managing the website
Blocks certain ports, which doesn't allow you to run your own server
Provides services e.g. technical support and backup systems
Choosing a hosting company
Advantages
Disadvantages
Able to have technical support if stuck on troubleshooting
No total control over own website
Provides backups; won't need to provide your own back up
therefore saves time and money
Potential security risk if something goes wrong with the hosting company
Considering choosing a hosting company that has "https";
this helps; gain customer's trust.
Availability; Internet connectivity are usually better
You can focus on main core of business objective rather
than adding another responsibility managing the website
6.
Advantages of commercial CMS
Disadvantages of commercial CMS
Program is thoroughly tested by the central company (in most cases)
Commercial CMS tends to cost more than regular open-source software
The lifecycle of the CMS is usually analyzed making the software less prone to making errors
No access to source code
Allows on-demand support
Commercial products have been sold on the market for at least a few years. There is more feedback forimprovement and a higher potential for a more mature product
Commercial products tend to score higher with critics than open-source systems although they are improving.
Advantages of Open Source CMS
Disadvantages of Open Source CMS
Free; saves costs.
Less secure; its open to public, meaning hackers can create scripts
to manipulate this CMS for malicious reasons.
Customizable, e.g. can access and alter source code
because it is free and unlimited.
Unlikely to have professional support because there's basically no
proper support for the program.
Contains templates that can be either free or inexpensive.
Offers free online support through online tutorials and
technical support forums.
Setting up a Shopping Cart System 7.Shopping cart software features web design software where users can design their store. They allow users options to change the look of their website. They also allow inventory control for users. The software helps the admin to keep a check on products that users buy and may set a protocol to send an e-mail message to customers purchasing goods for confirmation. Shopping cart software also allows for a bigger marketing medium. Contact information for all of your customers is kept in an address book, which you can easily convert into an Excel spreadsheet for use in other marketing efforts. Customers can keep track of their orders by viewing their order history and following their package with live order tracking. Finally, the software can integrate a search engine to help thin traffic on the site.
8. Steps a customer needs in order to buy a product from Foto Creativa:
Payment Options 9. 10. 11. 12.PayPal is a method of payment between an end user and a host of an online shop. It enables any individual or business with an e-mail address to securely and quickly send and receive payments online. It involves entering your financial details and sometime address into your PayPal account. PayPal will issue a password to the user to use when purchasing items online. When you purchase a good online, PayPal will only release the amount of money that is required to pay for the product and send it to the company. It does not release any private information to the company. Steps for FotoCreativa to add PayPal on their site: a. Sign-up For A PayPal Account Visit PayPal.com and click 'Sign up' on the left. Next, choose between 3 different types of accounts. Since you are selling online, choose the Premier account. There is a monthly fee for a business account, but not for a premier account. To create a premier account, click the "Get started" button inside the premier box. This will open a page requesting for your personal information. Enter your details then click the button at the bottom marked "Agree and create account." A verification message will be sent to the email address you provided. The message will contain a link for you to click to confirm your email address. Your premier account will be open once your email address is confirmed. b. Create A Button Once you have signed-up for your PayPal account, you need to create a button for your website that people will click when they purchase your product. To do this, click 'Merchant Services' from the top menu and then click on the 'Buy Now Button'. You will come to a page asking for details on your product(s). Enter the name of your product, the price, and how you want to get paid. It is also possible to specify which webpage the buyer will be taken to after they complete the purchase. c. Put The PayPal Button On Your Website Click the 'Create Button' button on the bottom of the page. PayPal will then generate a few lines of code that you need to place on your website. Copy and paste the information to your website where you want the button to be placed.
13.PayPal is considered to be more secure than regular online payment methods. This is because it doesn’t release any private financial information to the merchant decreasing the risk of identity theft. A more secure payment option coupled with the fact it is free to sign up for an account makes it a very attractive offer for customers. Paypal is easy and simple to use for customers with little experience in buying/selling goods online. PayPal only requires the customer to enter their username/password when purchasing goods which saves them time from re-entering their financial details repeatedly every time they want to purchase a good. Finally, PayPal offers a wide range of exciting tools as well as payment options to help you manage your business online. Examples include a monthly financial summary, printable packing slips and the ability to download financial reports in different formats. 14.The most common method of payment online is through a credit card where the user would enter his/her financial details directly into the website i.e credit card details/address. The site would then contact the bank (by using the credit card number) to verify that a payment was made before sending the good. Another method is by using a debit card although it follows the same method as above. In some cases, Carmen can use a bank wire transfer. The method allows the user to transport money from his account to another account (Carmen’s) online.
Web CMS
To run an e-commerce business successfully, Carmen needs a web content management system (Web CMS) to:• organize and present information about her products and services through a consistent user interface
• provide e-marketing
• interface data from the central database
• provide secure access to customers to view and upload files
• provide an e-commerce facility (with a shopping cart service).
However, there are technical requirements that Carmen must meet whether she chooses a free or commercial Web CMS. She will need:
• a domain name
• a hosting account – one of the more popular configurations includes:
- MySQL database management system (DBMS)
- PHP / other scripting language
- Linux operating system
- Apache web server
• a shopping cart system – purchased or open source
• a payment merchant account
• SSL-encrypted web site pages.
User interface
Successful businesses use a standard appearance and structure for their web sites and documents. Carmen must ensure that all the web pages have a consistent appearance. She is considering whether to use commercial or open source software to develop the web site.Database and applications
Underpinning any e-business there is always a database. In this case, it holds details of customers, products and orders. As with any other database, it is best managed with a DBMS, which provides applications with an interface to the underlying data. A DBMS will also preventunintentional data corruption. MySQL is a widely used DBMS that can be accessed by many programming languages such as PHP. Many shopping cart services and other web-based applications are written in PHP interfacing with MySQL.
E-commerce with shopping cart
In order to sell products or services from a web site, Carmen will need to set up a shopping cart. This can be implemented through a third party web site or run from her own web site. Hosting your own shopping cart is generally seen as a much more affordable solution and involves a number of challenges. However, running a shopping cart through a third party web site will also have its share of challenges.Domain Name
1. Steps to register a domain name:a) Visit an official internet registrar. Where to register is up to the business. Examples of internet registers include GoDaddy.com and Dotser.com
b) Enter a name/phrase you wish to register for your domain which follows the name length and format allowed. When choosing a name, make sure to:
- Keep it Relatively Short. Short domain names are easier to remember/type into a browser.
- Make it Unique. Unique names are easy to remember.
- Include Keywords. Including keywords will help produce the most hits for your business in search engines.
- Use dot Com. Although there are many different domain extensions the majority of internet users either don't know that or instinctively type .com.
c) Make sure the name is not taken.
d) Register for the domain name
e) Pay the filling fee based on the instructions given by the website
2. Carmen should register her domain name as they are unique. She cannot register the same domain name as another website. The first person to register a domain name is the only person that can use it unless they sell the domain name back to the market. This means that if someone else registers your domain name before you do, you will not be able to use it- you may get to use a ".net" or ".org" variation but ".com" attracts the most traffic.
Set up a Hosting Account
3. A programming model, LAMP, is used to set up a hosting account. Its main components are as follows:Linux OS: It is a free open source operating system that provides good security for Apache HTTP servers.
Apache HTTP server: A free common open source web server that plays playing a key role in the initial growth of the World Wide Web.
MySQL DBMS: An online database software often used with PHP and is used to store all sorts of information due to speed and reliability of its database features.
PHP/Python/Perl: These are programming languages used to produce dynamic web pages. PHP is the most common programming language, however Python and Perl act similarly to it.
4. Database management systems (DBMS) are a set of programs which allows users to read/write and access databases. Databases utilize DBMS to help organize, store, retrieve and alter data within its database. Newer DBMS systems allow a much more diverse operating environment including running applications as well as read/write capabilities.
5. Carmen Hosting her own website
web site.
credit card info. knowing its not secure
experienced employees to manage her website for her
better than broadband connection
Choosing an ISP to host her site:
better
therefore saves time and money
adding another responsibility managing the website
Choosing a hosting company
therefore saves time and money
this helps; gain customer's trust.
than adding another responsibility managing the website
6.
company (in most cases)
making the software less prone to making errors
for at least a few years. There is more feedback forimprovement and a higher potential for a more
mature product
critics than open-source systems although they
are improving.
to manipulate this CMS for malicious reasons.
because it is free and unlimited.
proper support for the program.
technical support forums.
Setting up a Shopping Cart System
7. Shopping cart software features web design software where users can design their store. They allow users options to change the look of their website. They also allow inventory control for users. The software helps the admin to keep a check on products that users buy and may set a protocol to send an e-mail message to customers purchasing goods for confirmation. Shopping cart software also allows for a bigger marketing medium. Contact information for all of your customers is kept in an address book, which you can easily convert into an Excel spreadsheet for use in other marketing efforts. Customers can keep track of their orders by viewing their order history and following their package with live order tracking. Finally, the software can integrate a search engine to help thin traffic on the site.
8. Steps a customer needs in order to buy a product from Foto Creativa:
Payment Options
9.
10.
11.
12. PayPal is a method of payment between an end user and a host of an online shop. It enables any individual or business with an e-mail address to securely and quickly send and receive payments online. It involves entering your financial details and sometime address into your PayPal account. PayPal will issue a password to the user to use when purchasing items online. When you purchase a good online, PayPal will only release the amount of money that is required to pay for the product and send it to the company. It does not release any private information to the company.
Steps for FotoCreativa to add PayPal on their site:
a. Sign-up For A PayPal Account
Visit PayPal.com and click 'Sign up' on the left. Next, choose between 3 different types of accounts. Since you are selling online, choose the Premier account. There is a monthly fee for a business account, but not for a premier account. To create a premier account, click the "Get started" button inside the premier box. This will open a page requesting for your personal information. Enter your details then click the button at the bottom marked "Agree and create account." A verification message will be sent to the email address you provided. The message will contain a link for you to click to confirm your email address. Your premier account will be open once your email address is confirmed.
b. Create A Button
Once you have signed-up for your PayPal account, you need to create a button for your website that people will click when they purchase your product. To do this, click 'Merchant Services' from the top menu and then click on the 'Buy Now Button'. You will come to a page asking for details on your product(s). Enter the name of your product, the price, and how you want to get paid. It is also possible to specify which webpage the buyer will be taken to after they complete the purchase.
c. Put The PayPal Button On Your Website
Click the 'Create Button' button on the bottom of the page. PayPal will then generate a few lines of code that you need to place on your website. Copy and paste the information to your website where you want the button to be placed.
13. PayPal is considered to be more secure than regular online payment methods. This is because it doesn’t release any private financial information to the merchant decreasing the risk of identity theft. A more secure payment option coupled with the fact it is free to sign up for an account makes it a very attractive offer for customers.
Paypal is easy and simple to use for customers with little experience in buying/selling goods online. PayPal only requires the customer to enter their username/password when purchasing goods which saves them time from re-entering their financial details repeatedly every time they want to purchase a good. Finally, PayPal offers a wide range of exciting tools as well as payment options to help you manage your business online. Examples include a monthly financial summary, printable packing slips and the ability to download financial reports in different formats.
14. The most common method of payment online is through a credit card where the user would enter his/her financial details directly into the website i.e credit card details/address. The site would then contact the bank (by using the credit card number) to verify that a payment was made before sending the good. Another method is by using a debit card although it follows the same method as above.
In some cases, Carmen can use a bank wire transfer. The method allows the user to transport money from his account to another account (Carmen’s) online.
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