Design & Development
The nuts and bolts of an ecommerce site are design and development. We address design innovation and trends — including layouts, colors, photography, logos, video, and more. We explain the basics of code — HTML, CSS, JavaScript — as well as platforms, themes, plugins, open source, and related topics.
Code | Design & Dev Tools | Platforms & Apps | Schools & Resources | Typography & Fonts | User Experience-
Platforms & Apps
Ecommerce Product Releases: Dec. 1, 2016
December 1, 2016 • Sig Ueland
Here is a list of recent product releases and updates for late-November from companies that offer services to online merchants. There are updates on personalized shopping, fraud prevention, live chat,
-
Platforms & Apps
Alternatives to Rebuilding an Ecommerce Store
November 30, 2016 • Eric Davis
In “How to Reduce Risks of an Ecommerce Rebuild,” my article last month, I described a process to rebuild an ecommerce store that reduces the risk of sales interruptions and ...
-
Design & Development
How to Create Color Separations in Adobe Illustrator
November 25, 2016 • Armando Roggio
If your business designs and sells t-shirts or other imprinted items, you may need to generate color separations so that contract manufacturers can easily produce your products. Online t-shirt shops abound. Ecommerce ...
-
User Experience
SEO: What Google’s Mobile-first Index Means for Ecommerce
November 18, 2016 • Jill Kocher Brown
Google started experimenting with a mobile-first index two weeks ago, making the mobile ecommerce experience even more critical to natural search performance. Shopping is a core behavior for mobile users. Last ...
-
Platforms & Apps
Ecommerce Product Releases: November 15, 2016
November 15, 2016 • Sig Ueland
Here is a list of recent ecommerce-related product releases and updates for mid-November. There are updates on fulfillment and distribution services, advertising networks and platforms, and buying products in virtual ...
-
Design & Development
Visual Search for Ecommerce Going Mainstream
November 8, 2016 • Gagan Mehra
Back in 2006, a company named Like.com enabled consumers to upload a photo to search for products. Like.com was popular as a price comparison site, but visual search did not ...
-
Platforms & Apps
14 New WordPress Business Themes for 2016
November 7, 2016 • Sig Ueland
There is a constant stream of new WordPress themes to build seemingly any type of business website or ecommerce store. Use a theme to launch a business website quickly, without ...
-
Schools & Resources
5 Ecommerce Site Design Trends for 2017
November 2, 2016 • Armando Roggio
In 2017, ecommerce websites will really be mobile websites. Designers may begin to think of the site design as mobile and adapt that design to larger laptop and desktop screens.
-
Platforms & Apps
Ecommerce Product Releases: November 1, 2016
November 1, 2016 • Sig Ueland
Here is a list of recent ecommerce-related product releases and updates for late October. There are updates on online grocery shopping, ecommerce personalization, and multiple product launches from Facebook and ...
-
Platforms & Apps
How to Reduce Risks of an Ecommerce Rebuild
October 25, 2016 • Eric Davis
Most every ecommerce storeowner, at some point, wants to completely rebuild her store. It’s usually for a number of reasons. Current store is too slow and is losing customers. Current store looks and ...
-
User Experience
SEO: Rethinking Mobile Search, for Ecommerce
October 21, 2016 • Jill Kocher Brown
Smartphones are fast becoming a search marketer’s best friend — or biggest concern. More than half of all searches on Google are conducted on a smartphone. In this critical holiday ...
-
Schools & Resources
15 New Books for Entrepreneurs in 2016
October 16, 2016 • Sig Ueland
Here is a list of some this year’s outstanding new books for entrepreneurs, written by an impressive group of professionals and mavericks. Learn how to focus, negotiate with anyone, tell ...
-
Platforms & Apps
Ecommerce Product Releases: October 7, 2016
October 7, 2016 • Sig Ueland
Here is a list of recent ecommerce-related product releases and updates for early October. There are updates on search, mobile payments, feedback, content management, and influencer tracking. Got an ecommerce product ...
-
Schools & Resources
Glossary of Web Development Roles
September 22, 2016 • Eric Davis
Web development teams are typically complex and filled with a variety of people. It is often difficult for outsiders to understand who does what. Many roles in a development team are ...
-
Schools & Resources
11 New Ecommerce Books for Fall 2016
September 19, 2016 • Sig Ueland
It’s time to look at the new ecommerce books for fall 2016. There are titles on the entrepreneurial life, innovative financing, creative marketing, customer relationships, content marketing, mobile commerce, and ...
-
Platforms & Apps
Ecommerce Product Releases: September 15, 2016
September 15, 2016 • Sig Ueland
Here is a list of product releases and updates for mid-September from companies that offer services to online merchants. There are updates on shopping domains, digital coupons, graphics and ad ...
-
Code
Understanding 4 Database Types, for Ecommerce
September 5, 2016 • Eric Davis
As I wrote in “How Databases Work with Ecommerce Applications,” you’re likely using a database for your ecommerce store even if you don’t know it. Ecommerce sites typically use databases for: Transaction tracking; Product ...
-
Design & Dev Tools
10 DIY Website Builders for Small Businesses
September 4, 2016 • Sig Ueland
Do-it-yourself website builders can help small businesses get online quickly and affordably using customizable templates and drag-and-drop design tools. Businesses can create simple landing pages, blogs, and even basic online ...
-
Platforms & Apps
Ecommerce Product Releases: Sept. 2, 2016
September 2, 2016 • Sig Ueland
Here is a list of ecommerce-related product releases and updates for late August — from companies that offer services to online merchants. There are updates on cross-platform selling, robotic fulfillment,
-
User Experience
Understanding ARIA, for Web Accessibility
September 1, 2016 • Joseph C. Dolson
If you research web accessibility, you’re likely to run into ARIA — Accessible Rich Internet Applications. Some will call it the solution to all web accessibility issues. Others will condemn ...
-
Schools & Resources
27 Free Web Design Elements, Summer 2016
August 28, 2016 • Sig Ueland
Enhance your website with free elements from the designer community. Design-focused websites, like Dribbble and Behance, provide plenty of access to high-quality elements, with lots of freebies. Here is a list ...
-
Design & Development
Build a Responsive, Mobile-first Cart Page with Bootstrap
August 25, 2016 • Armando Roggio
An ecommerce shopping cart page is most naturally a display of tabular data, listing the title and price for each item a shopper has selected. But HTML tables can be ...
-
Platforms & Apps
Ecommerce Product Releases: August 16, 2016
August 16, 2016 • Sig Ueland
Here is a list of recent ecommerce-related product releases and updates for mid-August — from companies that offer services to online merchants. There are updates on social media stories and ...
-
Design & Development
Make Animated GIFs in Adobe Photoshop CC
August 2, 2016 • Armando Roggio
Social media networks, including Pinterest, Twitter, and Facebook, have sparked an animated GIF renaissance. More than a few online retailers are regularly posting GIF animations to attract and engage potential customers. Marketers ...
-
Platforms & Apps
Ecommerce Product Releases: Aug. 1, 2016
August 1, 2016 • Sig Ueland
Here is a list of recent ecommerce-related product releases and updates for late July — from companies that offer services to online merchants. There are updates on live chat solutions,
-
Platforms & Apps
What Flavor Is Your Shopping Cart?
July 27, 2016 • Armando Roggio
Ecommerce platforms are software solutions that make it possible to build an online store, display products, and complete transactions over the Internet. In spite of a relatively simple definition, these ...
-
Design & Dev Tools
20 Free Design Tools for Ecommerce Merchants
July 25, 2016 • Sig Ueland
Whether building an ecommerce store from scratch or just freshening its look, merchants can find plenty of help with free online design tools. Here is a list of free online design ...
-
Code
How Databases Work with Ecommerce Applications
July 21, 2016 • Eric Davis
“Database-backed.” “Powered by PostgreSQL.” “Cloud database.” “Redundant, multi-zone NoSQL backend.” Those are all terms that describe ecommerce systems that use databases. But, what, exactly, do those terms mean? Is it good ...
-
Platforms & Apps
Ecommerce Product Releases: July 17, 2016
July 17, 2016 • Sig Ueland
Here is a list of recent ecommerce-related product releases and updates for mid-July, from companies that offer services to online merchants. There are updates regarding Amazon Prime Day, ecommerce in ...
-
Schools & Resources
To Improve SEO, Understand How It Works
July 15, 2016 • Jill Kocher Brown
Search engine optimization isn’t a mystical dark art. It boils down to signals of relevance and authority. Understanding the signals that search engines interpret as relevance and authority is key ...