2008-04-30T16:05:04-07:00 Practical Ecommerce info@practicalecommerce.com http://www.practicalecommerce.com/ Copyright 2007 Confluence Publishing DBA Practical Ecommerce http://www.practicalecommerce.com/articles/722/Effective-Tools-to-Detect-Stolen-Credit-Cards-Part-1-Of-3 2008-04-30T16:05:04-07:00

There are hundreds of branded tools that ecommerce merchants can turn to for help in catching fraudulent credit card orders. Some tools are free, and some come bundled or offered as additional features in payment processing systems like Authorize.net and Google Checkout. Others can be subscribed to, purchased as software or outsourced. As yet there doesn't appear to be any all-in-one solution, although some come close. Many online merchants are already on board with fraud detection technology. The average merchant uses 4.4 fraud detection tools according to the 2008 "Online Fraud Report" from CyberSource, a major electronic payment and risk management solution provider. The trick is to wade through all of the tools to determine which ones are best for your type of sales, your type of data storage and your type of customer. These articles should give you a sense of where to start or what you might be missing. Online merchants are one step ahead of the game if they can catch...

http://www.practicalecommerce.com/articles/726/Internet-Security-The-Seatbelt-Is-In-The-Trunk 2008-04-30T15:45:30-07:00

Suppose you took delivery on your new car and the salesman told you, as you signed the order, that the seatbelt, antilock brakes, and the airbags were in a box in the trunk and that if you want to be safer you might want to have an expensive expert install them. That would be about the time you scream a long string of epithets we cannot print here and go running from the showroom. So how come we all allow our software to be delivered with all the safety features set to a default that allows the porno peddler in Lithuania to store his entire inventory on your computer, not to mention borrowing the username and password to your bank account? And what can we do about it? Those are the kinds of questions that plague men like Clint Kreitner at the Center for Internet Security (CIS). Kreitner is a Naval Academy grad - went to school with John McCain - who served his country for 13 years and then went into the private sector. He ran some very successful IT companies and a...

http://www.practicalecommerce.com/articles/720/Credit-Card-Fraud-How-Big-Is-The-Problem 2008-04-23T14:42:20-07:00

Reports of website data breaches, identity theft and credit card fraud are increasingly in the news. But is the problem as widespread as the coverage suggests? Anyone who collects payments or customer information online runs the risk of being targeted by thieves. However, the likelihood of being hit by a virtual shoplifter is statistically on the decline. Meanwhile, industry watchers say that rather than an influx of database hacking, it's the new breach reporting laws, enacted in many states, which account for the recent surge in reported breach activity. Indeed, merchants who maintain and regularly update their security procedures for credit-card data and processing seem to mitigate their risks. For now, let's tackle this question: What is the scope of credit card-related fraud and the subsequent impact on an e-merchant? In 2000, North American e-merchants lost an average 3.6 percent of their sales to stolen or fraudulent credit cards. In 2007, that figure was down to 1.4...

http://www.practicalecommerce.com/articles/714/Protect-Customers-Data-Or-Lose-Your-Business 2008-04-14T15:00:37-07:00

Back-end store security: It's the most important, yet the oft-overlooked parameter of running an online business. Without securing customer data, you have no claim to running a legitimate business. I often hear excuses of ignorance, which makes me wonder how many online store owners take the time to read the latest ecommerce news and even merchant account information that comes in the mail? But it doesn't matter. You'll learn now, and you'll commit-right now-to taking the steps to make it right. I've my own gripes and rants about the lack of attention to security, and they're vast. So I've picked a few key points and will preface with this fact: Nearly 80 percent of the online stores, upon my first entry, compromise customer information and sensitive sales information. Most heed to the warnings, but I have had to outright refuse to work on stores that ignored recommendations and continued to violate either legal or moral issues when it comes to security. Forget about what a...

http://www.practicalecommerce.com/articles/704/Interview-Ex-hacker-Mitnick-On-Avoiding-Fraudsters 2008-03-31T16:04:27-07:00

You know that hidden bomb shtick in the movies? There's a bomb that's going to go off and kill a gazillion people. First, the good guys have to find it. Then they have to figure how to get into to it to disarm it. Then they almost have it disarmed when they discover a booby trap they have to work around. Then they find the two wires - red and blue. The hero has to snip the blue wire but they both look black under the yellow light. Then he gets lucky. He snips the blue wire. When it comes to Internet fraud, however, some of us don't get so lucky According to master-hacker-turned-security-guru Kevin Mitnick, those layers of resistance set up by the mad bomber ought to be the way everyone thinks when they are trying to keep the bad guys out of their computers, networks and databases. Mitnick, who knows about as much as anyone concerning Internet security, says it is not easy keeping the bad guys out. He says there is no magic bullet (or wire snipper). Mitnick: The system...

http://www.practicalecommerce.com/articles/702/Frameworks-For-Web-Designers 2008-03-26T17:56:13-07:00

I've written previously about frameworks and how they help developers build web applications. For the most part, my praise of frameworks has been directed at those of us who develop web applications, such as coding up the Ruby, Perl, PHP or .Net scripts that make applications work. However, frameworks can also be used to help teams work together, as in the case of a graphic designer and a web application developer. I can say from experience that it is often difficult to get creative people from different disciplines to work effectively together. Enter the Blueprint CSS framework. Blueprint CSS is a framework for visually styling web pages with Cascading Style Sheets. Rather than writing your own CSS for every website that you work on, Blueprint provides a foundation of CSS styles to work with and build upon. As CSS gets more advanced, and the shortcomings of web design are overcome, a framework like this can prevent problems, as well as give developers the tools to bring the...

http://www.practicalecommerce.com/articles/699/Tech-Support-Application-Programming-Interfaces 2008-03-19T16:37:12-07:00

One of the most exciting trends on the Internet today is interconnectedness. Application programming interfaces (APIs) help make this possible. For example, if I have created a blog at WordPress, I can get a free key to use the API at Akismet, a comment-spam-prevention service. Additionally, if I have a Flickr account, I can get another free key to access its API to display my photos from Flickr on my new blog. By interfacing with other websites, in other words, my blog is now more functional than it used to be. So what are APIs, and why should I pay attention to them? The first question is much easier than the second, so let's start with it. When a website such as Flickr offers an API it provides a method for other applications, such as other websites, to access its content. In the same way a person can visit Flickr and be presented with web pages, an API provides a way for computers to visit Flickr and be presented with the requested content. Here's an example. Say a user...

http://www.practicalecommerce.com/articles/688/Pay-per-click-Spyware-and-Other-Scams 2008-03-03T16:34:49-07:00

If you thought click fraud was bad, consider this: your Google AdWords, Yahoo! Search Marketing ads and Microsoft adCenter accounts are new targets for spyware applications, hackers and scam artists. If thieves obtain access to your pay-per-click account, they are in complete control of your pay-per-click activity and could place ads on their behalf but charge your account for them. Unauthorized users are likely to do one of two things. First, the users could bury their own keywords and ads deep in your account without changing anything else, such as settings and budgets. The idea is to run ads quietly so the account owner doesn't know he's paying for somebody else's clicks. Second, the users could go through a one-night rendezvous by dumping all sorts of high-cost keywords into your account and adjusting budgets to hundreds of thousands of dollars per day. The idea is to get as many ridiculously expensive clicks (even $90 a click or more) as possible on your credit card....

http://www.practicalecommerce.com/articles/666/Tech-Support-Passwords-And-Avatars 2008-02-04T14:43:18-07:00

Can ecommerce merchants help their customers manage multiple user names and passwords? Many websites require users to create an account to participate. This applies to social networking sites, ecommerce sites, news sites and others. For the site owner, the strategy of requiring a user to first create an account is frequently part of a larger marketing strategy of tracking what users purchase, what they read and so forth. It also helps cut down on spammers and unwanted, automated participation. However, many consumers do not want to create user accounts. And it’s becoming burdensome for these consumers to monitor and update multiple user accounts across multiple websites. But ecommerce merchants can alleviate these concerns by interfacing with emerging services such as OpenID (Openid.net) and Gravatar (Gravatar.com). These two services allow consumers to, respectively, create a single user account and a single avatar, which is an image rendered on a website. Ecommerce...

http://www.practicalecommerce.com/articles/660/Programming-Notes-Linking-To-Payment-Gateways 2008-01-28T16:50:38-07:00

Payment gateways can be intimidating for many web developers. I have always found a certain amount of anxiety associated with them, particularly because of security requirements and presumed liability issues that could arise from insecure transactions. However, the actual integration with a payment gateway reveals that it is not much different than interacting with any other application programming interface (API). So, to link an ecommerce application to a payment gateway, you must first select a gateway and then obtain an API username and password from it. This information will be included with all requests made to the payment gateway API, and provides your application with a way to identify itself and gain access. There are subtle API differences between the various gateway companies, so make sure you understand them if you are working with more than one. Second, you will need to collect the information to send to the payment gateway, such as a customer's credit card number....

http://www.practicalecommerce.com/articles/658/Get-Organized-With-Advanced-Searchbar 2008-01-23T14:08:07-07:00

If you are like me, you enjoy organization. Everything needs to be in order so you can work efficiently and get to things you need quickly. Most likely you spend time on the Internet doing research to enhance your business, reading interesting blogs, or watching videos that spark creativity. You may even spend time visiting MySpace, Facebook, and other social networking places. Maybe you like listening to a favorite radio station or downloading music from your favorite music site. So how do you keep all of this organized? Fortunately, there are a lot of free programs available to help you stay organized. One in particular is Advanced Searchbar (Advancedsearchbar.com), a free tool that installs directly in your browser and offers many different features. For one, it links to over 100 search engines, including Google, Yahoo! and MSN, to provide search results from all of them from Advanced Searchbar. In addition, it includes an automatic form filler, account login manager,...

http://www.practicalecommerce.com/articles/645/On-Vacation-Pointers-To-Stay-Connected 2008-01-09T10:31:55-07:00

I often find myself traveling with little notice. These trips include last minute family gatherings or clients purchasing new systems and wanting me by their side as they transfer data and confirm stability. Some months I’m gone more than I’m home. However, I’m fortunate enough to be able to work from just about anywhere. As we get more comfortable in 2008, I wonder how many small business owners have put off real vacations for fear of not being able to check into the office regularly. During the holidays I was hit with urgencies (even on Christmas) and in a rush to finally bow out of the office I forgot to transfer some key files to my laptop. Fortunately, in 2007, I took some time to put more features into place in case I had to dart out the door. Here are some inexpensive ways to make vacation and business work together. Portable Hard Drives Portable hard drives have really come down in price, and with in-store rebates common, I picked up two 120GB drives for...

http://www.practicalecommerce.com/articles/642/Pay-Per-Click-Account-Tools 2008-01-07T15:45:57-07:00

A daily pay-per-click management routine can sometimes be a source of frustration. Thankfully, there are a few tools out there to streamline the process. What follows is a list of software that every pay-per-click account owner should consider. AdWords Editor AdWords Editor is Google’s campaign management application. It’s free and makes AdWords account updates much easier. In Editor, you are able to make all adjustments to the account, except for a few recently released AdWords features (such as pay-per-action and ad scheduling), through this desktop application and then post all changes to the live account. It is also easy move around keywords, ads, Ad Groups and even entire campaigns using the AdWords Editor. Additionally, an Excel-friendly export feature is available. Find AdWords Editor at Google.com/intl/en/adwordseditor. PPC Keyword Generator PPC Keyword Generator is also free, and is an easy to use application that helps generate long-tail keywords without...

http://www.practicalecommerce.com/articles/629/What-Is-PCI-Compliance-And-Should-Merchants-Be-Concerned-About-It 2007-12-12T15:42:15-07:00

The major credit card issuers created PCI (Payment Card Industry) compliance standards to protect personal information and ensure security when transactions are processed using a payment card. All members of the payment card industry (financial institutions, credit card companies and merchants) must comply with these standards if they want to accept credit cards. Failure to meet compliance standards can result in fines from credit card companies and banks and even the loss of the ability to process credit cards. There are six categories of PCI standards that must be met in order for a retailer to be deemed compliant. 1. Maintain a secure network. This standard refers to the actual network that cardholder data is exposed to. In the case of an online business, the most obvious vulnerability for this standard is the web server. Luckily, most hosting companies take responsibility for ensuring the security of their networks. However, there is more to this standard than meets the...

http://www.practicalecommerce.com/articles/627/Order-Management-Software-Critical-To-Our-Business 2007-12-10T12:05:41-07:00

Busy ecommerce merchants, those that process many orders per day, understand the importance of automating order fulfillment. It doesn’t take much time, these merchants know, to simply print an email confirmation of an online order. But processing the order — retrieving the products, packaging them, inserting packing lists and producing shipping labels — that’s the time consuming part. And then there’s the need to adjust inventory records, keep track of the package during shipment and then update accounting records for the sale, cost of goods, shipping costs and so forth. Order processing, in short, takes a lot of effort. Fortunately there is a solution to simplify all of this. It’s called order management software and it greatly streamlines the entire order management process. Michael Knab is owner of Legacy Motors (Legacydiecast.com), a California-based ecommerce business that sells model cars, trucks and motorcycles. “Our order management software is critical...

http://www.practicalecommerce.com/articles/594/Personalized-Search-Coming-For-Search-Engines 2007-10-24T11:41:39-07:00

Personalized search could be the next big thing in search engine marketing. In fact, we are beginning to see the shift from homogeneous search results to personalized results already, and all major search engines have tools in place that are collecting such data. A good example is Google’s Web History. If you run a search with it turned on vs. turned off, potentially you’ll see a slight difference in search results for the same keywords. So what has led to the trend towards personalized search? The whole idea of a good search engine is based on the concept of “relevancy.” If you can quickly find what you’re looking for, then the “algorithm” is doing what it’s supposed to. Personalized search is really taking “relevancy” one-step further. Not only will Google, Yahoo!, MSN and Ask deliver results based on their proprietary ranking architecture, but they will also look at your Internet browsing patterns, and your search history, and then deliver the most relevant...

http://www.practicalecommerce.com/articles/591/Site-Monitoring-Tools-Help-Prevent-Downtime 2007-10-22T12:33:09-07:00

In order for an ecommerce site to sell products and services, it must be continuously available to online customers. Any downtime could potentially cause a retailer to lose thousands of dollars. Consequently, an important element in any online endeavor is having a structure in place to monitor a website’s performance systems. "There are many services necessary to keep an ecommerce site running optimally," said Manish Chowdhary, founder and CEO of GoECart.com. According to Chowdhary, in addition to loading DNS, HTTP, HTTPS, and database services, ecommerce sites need to load quickly. And while some of the ecommerce services that need to be monitored may be foreign to you, there are services available to help a merchant monitor a site for maximum uptime. GoECart, which provides shopping cart software and ecommerce solutions, offers a more advanced monitoring option to their clients where a script simulates a user conducting an online transaction. "This ensures virtually every...

http://www.practicalecommerce.com/articles/589/What-Are-Tags-And-What-Is-Tagging 2007-10-22T11:03:55-07:00

Since around 2004, content tagging has become more and more common due to social networking, photography sharing and bookmarking sites. Tagging is known by a few different names, such as content tagging, collaborative tagging, social tagging and even the scientific-sounding "folksonomy." In general tagging can be defined as the practice of creating and managing labels (or “tags”) that categorize content using simple keywords. The issue with content tagging is, like most things on the Internet, there are many different names for it and even more implementations of the practice, which can lead to confusion. In my opinion, content tagging can be broken into two types of tagging schemes, regardless of the exact type of implementation – public tagging and publisher tagging. I'm making the problem worse by arbitrarily making up some new terms, but the goal is to explain content tagging in broad terms and expose how ecommerce business owners can use tagging to their...

http://www.practicalecommerce.com/articles/573/Keyword-Research-Tools 2007-09-24T12:39:49-07:00

Every diligent search marketing specialist should be constantly researching new keywords for his customers. Over the years, I've come up with a list of “must-see” sources for new keywords. Some are traditional keyword research tools/methods, whereas others tend to be more unorthodox. Traditional Keyword Research Tools Traditional keyword research tools are an absolute must for any successful search- engine-marketing campaign. There are quite a few out there including KeywordDiscovery, WordTracker, Google’s Keyword Tool and Yahoo’s Keyword Selector Tool. Those are great for getting your feet wet and getting started. At some point, however, you might find yourself struggling to come up with new keyword ideas using those tools. When it doubt, start thinking synonyms. Synonyms Just because you think the right terminology for your product/service is XYZ, that doesn’t stop prospects trying to find you typing ABC into the search engines. I’ve often seen business owners...

http://www.practicalecommerce.com/articles/558/Search-Engine-Optimization-And-Web-20 2007-09-06T09:03:07-07:00

That well-used buzzword "Web 2.0" encompasses a number of technologies, including blogs, RSS feeds, wikis, tagging/folksonomies, podcasts, widgets, AJAX and Flash. Some of these technologies are a net positive for your search engine visibility and some are a net negative.
 Blogs and RSS feeds are great for search engine optimization, for reasons I discussed in my previous articles "SEO: Blogging Your Way to the Top" and "SEO: RSS Feeds Increase Visibility." So are wikis, being they are text-rich, frequently updated and heavily linked internally. Furthermore, a wiki acts as "link bait," probably because it is viewed as a more definitive, neutral and trusted source where consensus has been reached. For example, by launching my SEO Glossary as a wiki I am certain that the site has garnered more links than it would have as a traditional website. Tagging is one of my favorite Web 2.0 technologies. Found primarily on blogs (particularly on WordPress blogs that utilize the free...

http://www.practicalecommerce.com/articles/557/Programming-Notes-Transferring-A-Domain-Name 2007-09-03T17:00:11-07:00

The process of transferring a domain name from one registrar to another can be daunting, and the exact process can vary slightly depending on the registrars involved. The first thing to do is to log into the old registrar, where the domain is currently being managed, and make sure the domain is not locked and that all the registration information is correct. This is important because the domain registry information is used during the transfer process, so make sure the email address listed is yours (or you have access to it). From here, log into the new registrar and request a domain transfer. This is where complications arise, as the registrars look for verification that you are the owner of the domain. The old registrar will then provide an "authorization code,” which needs to be requested. This code then needs to be entered into the new registrar's "pending transfers" section, which essentially verifies to the old registrar your identity. In some cases, an additional...

http://www.practicalecommerce.com/articles/548/Web-Hosting-Companies-Sources-To-Help-You-Choose 2007-08-22T09:50:34-07:00

When it comes to selecting a web host, there’s a lot to choose from. It’s possible your Internet Service Provider (ISP) may have its own web hosting capabilities, and it’s not a bad place to start. However, more than likely you’ll need an independent host that can specifically address your own unique needs, such as database requirements, storage (hard-drive) space and bandwidth demands. “There are literally thousands of options, so making that decision, which is a very important decision, can be challenging,” said Dane Jasper, CEO of the web hosting company Sonic.net. “I think that shopping around for the features and a price that are going to satisfy the needs of your website, number one, and that features question is an important one. And is the website going to require a Linux host or a Windows host? That's a very fundamental question.” Jasper said other key questions to address during a web host search include potential database requirements and how...

http://www.practicalecommerce.com/articles/540/Catalogs-Can-Complement-An-eCommerce-Site 2007-08-19T10:45:36-07:00

As ecommerce businesses begin to grow, a dilemma some may face is the decision of whether a catalog is an appropriate multichannel tool. Latienda.com, which sells a variety of items not generally available outside of Spain, was faced with just such a predicament six years ago. And interestingly enough, Latienda’s decision to eventually produce a catalog was not an internal decision — it came about due to customer demand. Tim Harris, co-owner of Latienda.com, said while the focus was always on the website, the company could simply no longer ignore the repeated requests for a catalog. Harris said initially Latienda.com started with a very basic catalog they would design and print themselves, on copier paper, which was then sent to several hundred customers. Those first catalogs, according to Harris, were mainly a one-color pricelist without photos or item descriptions. Eventually, Latienda.com decided it could do better. “The customers demanded it and then we...

http://www.practicalecommerce.com/articles/499/Product-Spotlight--eBay-Items-Mouse--Tablet-And-More 2007-06-08T16:00:43-07:00

Blog Your eBay Items Have you ever found something on eBay that you really wanted to let your friends know about? Or is your business selling items on eBay and you want to cross-promote those items in your businesses' blog? If so, eBay To Go is for you. It's a way for you to share interesting things you've discovered on eBay and personalize your blog, social networking page or website. Anyone can create his/her own eBay To Go widget, even non-eBay users. It's free to use at Togo.ebay.com. Mouse and Tablet The T&Mouse from Hanvon is a unique, USB-powered mouse complete with a “hole” in the middle that houses a tablet surface. Its pen, or even the fingertip, can be used to write on the tablet, which then inputs words into a computer. The product was initially unveiled at the Chinese International High-Tech Expo in May and should be available soon. To date, cost is unknown, and it is expected that the product will first make its debut in China. The product can be viewed at...

http://www.practicalecommerce.com/articles/426/Windows-Vista-Upgrade-Now-or-Later 2007-02-23T11:26:04-07:00

More than 10 years ago, I sat in front of my TV in rapt excitement as I watched a promotion for Windows 95 and heard the Rolling Stones sing "Start Me Up!" As the magical on-screen mouse clicked a "Start" button, I believed the promise that my computer world was about to change forever. In the ensuing decade, the promises made in that TV promotion sometimes lived up to the hype — and at other times fell flat. With the release of Windows Vista, the question on everyone's mind seems to be, "Should I upgrade now or wait?" To find an answer to this pressing upgrade question, I took a walk down memory lane for a brief lesson in recent history. Windows 95, the operating system (OS) that made it possible to easily use a new generation of PCs, also put the phrase "latest security patch" into users' everyday vocabulary. After Windows 95, we got Windows 98 — which purported to fix the problems with Windows 95. By the way, from my point of view, Windows 98 was probably Microsoft's...

http://www.practicalecommerce.com/articles/370/Internet-Explorer-7-is-Coming 2006-12-01T00:01:06-07:00

The upcoming release of the Windows Vista operating system also means the impending release of the full version of the web browser Internet Explorer 7. Like most website developers, I toughed out a brief bout of panic as memories of the release of Internet Explorer 6 came rushing back through my mind. Those were tough, frustrating days. However, I believe that this time the release of a new version of Internet Explorer will be a much more enjoyable experience for developers. At the very least, its release is something for which all web developers should be preparing by understanding how it will affect them. To start with, IE7 promises to have some new features designed to improve the user experience. As web developers understanding these features can help us to know what our users are experiencing, particularly when it comes to the world's most widely used browser. A few of the features worth mentioning are the introduction of tabbed browsing, integrated RSS feed support, inline...

http://www.practicalecommerce.com/articles/369/Tech-Support---December-2006 2006-12-01T00:01:05-07:00

I'm confused by all the prices out there for domain-name registration. My hosting company occasionally offers free domain name registration, yet I see some other companies charging up to $29.99 annually to register a domain name. Are the more expensive versions somehow better? Domain-name registration is a relatively straightforward process. However, there can be a tremendous price difference between different registrars. The difference in pricing generally stems from what services the registrar offers and what promotions the registrar is offering. For example, a hosting company may offer its customers a free domain-name registration each year as a marketing promotion. Since presumably each domain needs to be hosted, it is hoping that, by giving away free domain names (which are relatively cheap for the company), it will pick up new hosting accounts in return, which generate good revenue for the hosting company. In another example, you may be using a registrar that has invested...

http://www.practicalecommerce.com/articles/352/Google-Takes-On-Microsoft-Office 2006-11-20T08:49:00-07:00

Google's never made a secret of the fact that its vision of your future computer desktop does not include any Microsoft products. For Google, all you'll need is a browser, an Internet connection, and a Google account - everything else is optional! Google will provide for all your computing needs on a "virtual desktop" you can access from any computer with a connection to the Web. Log on to docs.google.com and you can experience the first wave of Google's strategy in action. "Google Docs & Spreadsheets" is a web-based word processing and spreadsheet program that enables you to create, modify, save and share documents without the need for Microsoft Office (or any other office suite). It enables you to do everything from simple word processing and spreadsheets to remote collaboration with business associates all over the world. It also allows you to convert your documents to PDF, HTML and several other formats and publish them right from the web. Getting started rates extremely...

http://www.practicalecommerce.com/articles/344/Quick-Query-Chad-Herman 2006-11-01T14:34:34-07:00

What does Second Bite do for online businesses? Second Bite gives the merchant the opportunity to remarket to any individual who, for whatever reason, is not able to complete the purchase at the time of the site visit. We get back in front of that consumer with a targeted, branded email with a link in the email that’s coded to bring them directly back to the page where they abandoned. So, shoppers are not going to have to reselect the items, they will still be there waiting for their return. Clearly you need an email address to make this work. What if customers don’t submit an email address? There are three ways we can capture an email address. The first is that the customer enters an email address. The big thing about our product is that customers don’t have to hit the “submit” button to capture that data. Second, we can associate “known shoppers” for that merchant. If someone is a registered user on your site, we can capture an email address by...

http://www.practicalecommerce.com/articles/345/Experiencing-Server-Overload 2006-11-01T14:34:34-07:00

Each month I talk about things I’ve learned by watching how other store owners run their businesses. Not that I don’t make my own mistakes, but I often try to keep my own embarrassing moments to myself. Until now... I’ve talked before about what to look for in a hosting company. I’ve talked about making sure the server your online store relies upon is solid, secure and that the data center maintains alternate lines and power supplies. I missed a key point, however, and it relates to anticipated traffic. I run a personal website about The Black Dahlia—it’s a 60-year-old murder case wherein the victim, a 22-year-old wannabe actress, was found dead in a vacant lot. Hollywood recently released a fictionalized film on the event, and many television networks have aired segments or entire shows dedicated to the case. In September, I appeared on the A&E network and The Biography Channel. I did anticipate a spike in traffic when the television shows were scheduled to...