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-
Schools & Resources
Reading List: Web Retailer’s Andy Geldman
February 4, 2014 • PEC Staff
In “Reading List,” we ask ecommerce professionals to name some of their favorite books and blogs, and tell us why they read them. For this installment, we corresponded with U.K.-based ...
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Platforms & Apps
Rewards, Risks of Changing Ecommerce Platforms
January 27, 2014 • Dale Traxler
There are many reasons that ecommerce companies change platforms. As their business grows and market conditions change, ecommerce firms sometimes replace components or the entire platform to remain competitive. But replatforming ...
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User Experience
What Is Flat Design?
January 24, 2014 • Armando Roggio
Flat design is a web and application interface design philosophy aimed at creating simple, usable interfaces that are both aesthetically attractive and functionally easy to use, regardless of where the ...
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Design & Development
Lessons Learned: Entrepreneurs Select Blinds
January 17, 2014 • Elizabeth Hollingsworth
Nate Kennedy grew up in Logan, Utah. The oldest of 10 children, Kennedy’s desire to earn money came from watching his grandparents, who owned a golf shop, go bankrupt. His business ...
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Schools & Resources
7 Ecommerce Design Trends for 2014
January 14, 2014 • Armando Roggio
As more online retailers seek to provide a good mobile shopping experience, expect to see a significant number of site redesigns in 2014. These redesigned sites are likely to follow ...
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Platforms & Apps
20 New Ecommerce Themes for WordPress
January 13, 2014 • Sig Ueland
With its wide variety of ecommerce themes, WordPress makes it easy to get a shop up and running in no time. Here is a list of new ecommerce themes for WordPress.
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Business
5 Keys to Mobile Ecommerce Optimization in 2014
January 2, 2014 • Armando Roggio
Web traffic estimates from several trend analysis firms, including comScore, predict that mobile Internet traffic will outpace traffic from desktop or large laptop devices in 2014, further demonstrating just how ...
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Platforms & Apps
7 Top WordPress Plugins of 2013
December 17, 2013 • Joe Robison
WordPress continues to be a dominant content management system. Nearly every WordPress site relies on plugins for added functionality. But with the overwhelming number of plugins, it’s difficult to know which ...
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Platforms & Apps
Distributed Commerce to Disrupt Online Storefronts?
December 11, 2013 • Dale Traxler
The vast majority of ecommerce transactions occur in a traditional online storefront. Most ecommerce solutions include everything required for placing an order in a single shopping cart or platform —
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Schools & Resources
WordPress Accessibility Resources
December 5, 2013 • Joseph C. Dolson
WordPress is the foundation for many websites. Roughly 40 percent of the top 10,000 sites in the world use it, including ecommerce sites, blogs, major online publications, and web applications. Whether you’re ...
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Platforms & Apps
20 Apps for Microsoft SkyDrive
December 2, 2013 • Sig Ueland
SkyDrive is Microsoft’s cloud storage service, similar to Google Drive and Dropbox. SkyDrive comes with some attractive features, such as 7 GB of free storage and mobile apps for iOS,
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Schools & Resources
16 Free Online Tools for Small Businesses
November 25, 2013 • Sig Ueland
Whether you’re starting a small business or you’re just thrifty, you can likely benefit from some free online productivity tools. Here is a list of online productivity tools for small businesses.
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Platforms & Apps
4 Managed WordPress Hosting Providers
November 20, 2013 • Joe Robison
Managed WordPress hosting came about because many WordPress sites, from small time bloggers to large businesses, wanted more security and support than was provided by standard hosts. They wanted expertise ...
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Platforms & Apps
Hosted Mobile Platforms Quick, Easy to Implement
November 18, 2013 • Dale Traxler
Consumers increasingly conduct product research on smartphones. But actual online purchases are typically done on desktops, laptops, and, now, tablets. There are many reasons for this, but mostly it is that ...
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User Experience
9 Ecommerce Lessons from NFL Online Shops
November 6, 2013 • Armando Roggio
The National Football League, its teams, and its licensees collectively sell more than $2 billion per year in merchandise, including shirts, hats, key chains, and golf tees just to name ...
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Schools & Resources
12 New Ecommerce Books for the Holidays
October 21, 2013 • Sig Ueland
With the holidays around the corner, it’s time to browse the new ecommerce books. I compiled this list using Amazon’s “Books” category. I selected “Browse Subjects” and chose the “Business &
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Platforms & Apps
4 Popular WordPress Ecommerce Platforms
October 16, 2013 • Joe Robison
Most products for sale online are straightforward, with variations mainly in colors and sizes. WordPress ecommerce plugins can be an easy, inexpensive way to sell these items. If you already ...
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Schools & Resources
Reading List: Robert J. Moore of RJMetrics
October 9, 2013 • PEC Staff
In “Reading List,” we ask ecommerce professionals to name some of their favorite books and blogs, and tell us why they read them. For this installment, we corresponded with Robert ...
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Schools & Resources
Reading List: Seth Boylan of Xpert Fulfillment
September 26, 2013 • PEC Staff
In “Reading List,” we ask ecommerce professionals to name some of their favorite books and blogs, and tell us why they read them. For this installment, we corresponded with Seth ...
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Design & Development
Psychology and Web Design
August 15, 2013 • Drew Coffin
Our psychology affects how we interact with websites. Designers can use this to their advantage. Here are a few ways to use psychology when designing your site.
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Design & Development
Multiscreen Ecommerce: Dos and Don’ts
August 1, 2013 • Armando Roggio
Online shoppers use a variety of devices — smartphones, tablets, laptops, personal computers, and televisions — to discover and buy products online. In response, ecommerce businesses need a multiscreen strategy for both marketing to potential customers and providing those shoppers with ...
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Design & Dev Tools
5 Tools to Personalize your Marketing Efforts
July 25, 2013 • Jerry Jao
In "8 Tools to Personalize your Ecommerce Site," I discussed methods to customize visitors' experiences on your website. In this article, I'll list five tools to help personalize your advertising and marketing efforts. PadiAct Not everyone is going to buy from you on the first visit....
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Design & Dev Tools
8 Tools to Personalize your Ecommerce Site
July 23, 2013 • Jerry Jao
Personalizing an ecommerce site doesn’t have to be difficult or expensive. Often, it’s just about finding the right tool, implementing it on your site, and letting the software do its magic. If you’re thinking about adding more personalization features, the following tools and services ...
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Design & Development
Mobile Ecommerce Sites Should Be Fast and Robust
July 22, 2013 • Armando Roggio
Internet users, and online shoppers specifically, want fast and robust online experiences regardless of whether they are using a desktop computer or the most basic smartphone. Ecommerce businesses competing in this era of the emerging mobile web must take steps to provide useful and ric...
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Schools & Resources
18 Resources to Make a Logo
July 8, 2013 • Sig Ueland
A logo is a way for a business to convey its identity and purpose. But hiring a designer to create a logo can be an expensive and intimidating process. There are a wide variety of online tools available to create a unique logo without spending a huge amount of money. Here is a list of ...
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Platforms & Apps
Ecommerce Platforms: Design Control vs. Ease of Launching
July 3, 2013 • Armando Roggio
Online shoppers judge an Internet retailer’s trustworthiness and a product’s value based, at least in part, on how good a site or product detail page looks. Given its importance, one might think that design control would be an essential part of every available ecommerce platform. But ma...
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Platforms & Apps
4 Comment Systems: Pros and Cons
June 27, 2013 • Drew Coffin
In “What to Look for in a Comment System,” I described features like comment moderation, analytics, social integration, and dashboard settings. In this post I will review four popular comment systems and discuss the highlights of each.
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Platforms & Apps
Multichannel Case Study: Gap Inc.
June 21, 2013 • Dale Traxler
As a small online retailer, you may ignore the strategies of larger, multichannel brands. But if you investigate what these larger companies are doing to deliver a consistent multichannel experience, you will learn how to compete with them. If your operations are online only, you risk ...
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Schools & Resources
14 New Ecommerce Books for Summer 2013
June 17, 2013 • Sig Ueland
Here is a list of new ecommerce and Internet-marketing books for summer 2013. There are new titles on digital marketing, A/B testing, search engine optimization, inbound content marketing, mobile commerce, email strategies, social influence, and drop shipping. I compiled the list usin...
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Design & Dev Tools
19 Free Design Tools for Your Website
May 29, 2013 • Sig Ueland
If you have a small business website, chances are you can use all the free design help you can get. Here is a list of tools and resources to help you with website design. There are font, icon and image tools, as well as audio and video applications. Also there are resources to give you ideas and generate your design inspiration. All of these tools are free.