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

Platforms & Apps
4 Reasons Every Retailer Should Have a Mobile App

April 3, 2013 • Armando Roggio

Mobile applications resonate with shoppers, are easy to implement, come with a variety of abilities and purposes, and are becoming the standard for online retailers. There are at least four reasons nearly every retailer should offer a mobile application. Mobile commerce is among the fa...
Design & Development
7 Ways Mobile Commerce Will Change Retail

March 28, 2013 • Armando Roggio

As the online and offline worlds converge, mobile commerce has the potential to eclipse desktop-based ecommerce and, perhaps, even replace a significant portion of traditional retail shopping. Mobile-driven online sales in the U.S. are expected to reach $2.12 billion in 2013 and explod...
Schools & Resources
15 New Ecommerce Books for Spring 2013

March 25, 2013 • Sig Ueland

Spring is here and so are new ecommerce books. Here is a list of new ecommerce and Internet-marketing books for spring 2013. There are new titles on creating viral content, delivering customer support, emulating the success of business mavericks and top brands, and several books on soci...
Schools & Resources
Reading List: Retention Science’s Jerry Jao

March 21, 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 Jerry ...
User Experience
How to Make your Site Mobile Friendly, Part 1

March 20, 2013 • Kathleen Fealy

According to a recent study from Pew Internet & American Life Project, 46 percent of Americans use smartphones. Small to medium-size businesses are searching for cost-effective solutions for capturing this audience and for making their websites more mobile-friendly.
Schools & Resources
10 Examples of Storytelling in Web Design

March 15, 2013 • Drew Coffin

In "Storytelling in Web Design," I explained the three most basic aspects of storytelling — character, setting, and action — and offered ways to begin including storytelling in web design using basic design elements. In this article, I will examine ten sites that use storytelling and list the character, setting, and action found in each story.
Platforms & Apps
22 New Ecommerce Themes for WordPress

March 11, 2013 • Sig Ueland

WordPress is a content management system that’s popular for blogging. But with an ecommerce theme, you can use WordPress to launch a storefront. Here is a list of new ecommerce themes for WordPress. There are free and premium themes, loaded with features to customize your site. Many o...
Schools & Resources
Reading List: Tinyme’s Ben Liau

March 5, 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 Ben ...
Schools & Resources
8 Ecommerce Galleries

February 25, 2013 • Sig Ueland

Looking for ecommerce design ideas? Browse through website galleries that showcase ecommerce sites. Find examples of beautiful websites and site elements from both new and established ecommerce stores. Here is a list of inspirational galleries that showcase ecommerce sites. There are ...
Schools & Resources
10 Creative Contact Pages

February 21, 2013 • Drew Coffin

Contact pages facilitate questions from visitors, and otherwise help prospects locate your business or connect via social media. A well-designed, creative page with easy-to-find information encourages interactions, which can lead to sales. Here are 10 creative contact pages. Lionway...
Schools & Resources
15 Helpful Guides for Ecommerce Merchants

February 18, 2013 • Sig Ueland

An ecommerce merchant frequently wears many hats -- entrepreneur, marketer, and content creator, to name a few. Fortunately there are free online guides to help with every task. Here is a list of online guides to assist merchants with their many needs. There are style guides to help wi...
Design & Development
Color Psychology and Ecommerce

February 6, 2013 • Drew Coffin

Color affects our moods and states of mind. It can influence customer buying habits, making color psychology an important part of ecommerce. This article will address color psychology basics and ways you can use color psychology with your ecommerce efforts.
User Experience
Understanding User Experience vs. User Interface

February 4, 2013 • Dale Traxler

I’ve had many discussions this year with web designers and developers concerning user interface (UI) and user experience (UX) and what the differences are. For ecommerce merchants, it’s important to know the difference if you are planning any type of redesign of your online store. On...
Schools & Resources
Reading List: Postcode Anywhere’s Guy Mucklow

January 31, 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 Guy ...
Design & Development
Using Creative QR Codes

January 29, 2013 • Drew Coffin

QR codes can be used to display text, store product information, or direct users to websites. Most smartphones can scan QR codes with a built-in camera and a barcode scanner app. This makes QR codes an effective way to connect with customers. The problem with QR codes is they are often bulky and unattractive.
Design & Dev Tools
19 Tools to Test your Site for Mobile Devices

January 21, 2013 • Sig Ueland

Is your ecommerce site ready for mobile commerce? Preparing your site for mobile customers can be daunting, considering the huge range of mobile devices and browsers. Fortunately, there are some great tools available to make sure your site is mobile compatible. Here is a list of tools ...
User Experience
Optimizing Ecommerce for Tablets and Smartphones

January 15, 2013 • PEC Staff

If you're thinking users of smartphones and tablets do not represent a material part of your ecommerce audience, consider these data points. 29 percent of all U.S. adults own a tablet or e-reader, up from 2 percent three years ago, according to Pew Research. Sales from tablets and sma...
Schools & Resources
Reading List: Bridgeline Digital’s Brett Zucker

January 8, 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 Brett ...
Design & Dev Tools
8 Tools for Managing Multiple WordPess Sites

January 7, 2013 • Sig Ueland

Managing multiple WordPress sites is getting easier. With the release of WordPress 3.0 and its multisite feature, you can run multiple sites from a single WordPress installation and create a network of sites. However, if you run several websites with a variety of requirements, your need...
User Experience
5 Ways to Enhance an Ecommerce Site for Tablets

January 7, 2013 • Armando Roggio

Online retailers must design sites that work well and look great on tablets as those devices emerge as a favorite for online shoppers. Designing for tablets include adaptive layouts, touch-sensitive navigation, great images and graphics, and fast load times. Some 25 percent of American...
Platforms & Apps
7 Must-have WordPress Plugins for Business Sites

January 3, 2013 • Armando Roggio

WordPress plugins extend the popular content management system’s capabilities and, in many cases, improve its performance. While each site may wish to use a different combination of plugins, there are simply some of these extensions that every business must have.
Design & Development
15 iPad-friendly Retail Sites

January 2, 2013 • Armando Roggio

Apple's iPad tablet computer is changing the way that many consumers connect to the Internet, stay informed, and shop. A tablet-friendly website is thus a new imperative for online retailers. One out of every four adults in the U.S. owns a tablet computer like the Apple iPad or similar...
Platforms & Apps
Mobile Commerce: Website or App?

January 1, 2013 • Dale Traxler

According to Forrester Research, mobile commerce sales will grow from $10 billion in 2012 to $32 billion in 2016, accounting for more than 7 percent of total ecommerce sales. With the adoption of smartphones and tablets accelerating worldwide, that percentage could be even higher. For...
Schools & Resources
Reading List: WarehousingAndFulfillment.com’s Will Schneider

December 24, 2012 • 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 Will ...
Design & Development
6 Tips for Newsletter Subscription Forms

December 21, 2012 • Drew Coffin

An email list is one of the best ways to connect with shoppers, announce new products, and promote sales. A key part of building a mailing list is having a compelling newsletter signup form. While different sites display newsletter signup forms in different ways, examining newsletter signup forms from around the web reveals several common practices.
Design & Development
Mobile Commerce Blurs Online, Offline Retail

December 5, 2012 • Armando Roggio

Mobile devices like smartphones and tablets allow shoppers to look for products or compare prices from just about anywhere, including right in the middle of a brick-and-mortar store. These devices are changing how people shop and blurring the distinction between buying online or off. R...
Schools & Resources
16 New Ecommerce Books for the 2012 Holidays

December 3, 2012 • Sig Ueland

Here are new ecommerce and Internet-marketing books for winter 2012. There are new titles on social media, conversion optimization, entrepreneurship, email marketing, and content creation. I compiled this record using Amazon’s "Books" category. I selected “Browse Subjects” and chose th...
Design & Development
Mobile Devices Capture Increasing Share of Holiday Shopping

November 29, 2012 • Marcia Kaplan

While overall online commerce showed impressive gains over last year's Black Friday/Cyber Monday holiday, the real standout this year was mobile commerce. Compared with the same period in 2011, mobile grabbed a much larger share of both shopping and actual purchases. According to IBM’...
Schools & Resources
5 Sins of Retail Site Design in 2013

November 20, 2012 • Armando Roggio

A great retail site design is aesthetically pleasant; it reflects current trends; and it includes the best and often latest in functionality. When these areas are ignored the resulting design can be downright sinful — even harmful to the bottom line. To some extent, site design is subj...
Design & Development
3 Tactics for Mobile Commerce

November 16, 2012 • Armando Roggio

Mobile shopping may be the fastest growing retail trend this year and next. How merchants market to mobile shoppers could soon have a significant impact on sales and customer loyalty. There is no question that shoppers are using mobile devices — smartphones and tablets — to research bu...

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