Category

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

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 ...
Code
CSS, JavaScript Frameworks for Ecommerce Sites in 2016

July 7, 2016 • Armando Roggio

The CSS and JavaScript frameworks an ecommerce business chooses can have a significant impact on that business’s website features, performance, and development costs. The combination of programming languages, frameworks, libraries, and ...
Design & Development
A Better Way to Store Ecommerce Product Information

July 3, 2016 • Armando Roggio

How an ecommerce site stores and accesses product information can have a significant impact on site performance. Online retail businesses, small and large, may benefit from a popular database technology that ...
Platforms & Apps
Ecommerce Product Releases: June 30, 2016

June 30, 2016 • Sig Ueland

Here is a list of ecommerce-related product releases for the end of June — from companies that offer services to online merchants. There are updates regarding Pinterest, cheaper shipping rates ...
Schools & Resources
Lessons from 99 Retail Website Footers

June 29, 2016 • Armando Roggio

Stuffed full of links, contact information, legal notices, email subscription forms, and social media icons, the footer section of many ecommerce web pages might seem like pure miscellany. Nonetheless, I ...
Platforms & Apps
29 Free Joomla Resources, Extensions, Templates

June 27, 2016 • Sig Ueland

With over 68 million downloads, Joomla is the second most popular open-source content management system, behind WordPress. With over 200,000 community users and contributors, and thousands of extensions, Joomla offers ...
Code
How Backend Code Describes an Ecommerce Business

June 23, 2016 • Eric Davis

In “How Backend Web Applications Power Ecommerce Sites,” my article last month, I addressed web applications and explained how they can dynamically generate pages for your ecommerce store, eliminating having ...
Platforms & Apps
Ecommerce Product Releases: June 16, 2016

June 16, 2016 • Sig Ueland

Here is a list of recent ecommerce-related product releases and updates. The items offer services to online merchants of all sizes. Got an ecommerce product release? Email releases@practicalecommerce.com. Ecommerce Product Releases Slidely ...
Schools & Resources
11 New Ecommerce Books for Summer 2016

June 12, 2016 • Sig Ueland

Summer is here, which means it’s time to look at the new ecommerce books. There are titles on startup funding, being the boss, digital currencies, disruptive marketing, social media, and ...
User Experience
5 Basics to Make a Website Accessible

May 27, 2016 • Joseph C. Dolson

The topics of accessibility, screen readers, and how users interact with voice command applications can be challenging to grasp. But for 90 percent of websites, there are simple choices that ...
Code
How Backend Web Applications Power Ecommerce Sites

May 26, 2016 • Eric Davis

I’ve explained how a website is displayed in a browser — the front-end technology — in “What HTML5 Means for Ecommerce Merchants,” “What CSS Means for Ecommerce Merchants,” and “What ...

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