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
  • Schools & Resources

    Mobile Commerce: Four Good Examples

    March 18, 2010 •

    Deciding what to do about the explosive growth of mobile traffic can be difficult. That’s why we’re bringing you some of our picks for the best of the mobile web, with mobile-optimized sites that bring a unique and useful experience for users. Some of these sites are from large retailer...

  • Design & Development

    Take the Survey: Is Your Website Mobile Optimized?

    March 17, 2010 •

    Many experts predict that mobile commerce will eventually exceed traditional website sales. We wonder how many ecommerce sites are already optimized for mobile devices; and we're curious what your view of mobile commerce really is. The goal of this month's Practical eCommerce survey is ...

  • Design & Development

    To Tap Mobile Buyers, First Determine Their Needs

    March 16, 2010 •

    As the mobile user base swells, it is becoming easier to classify mobile users based on their attitudes towards their phones and the features they use most often. Merchants should consider how mobile customers will prefer to access web content. From that, merchants can decide what kind ...

  • Design & Dev Tools

    The PEC Review: LABjs for Better Site Performance

    March 15, 2010 •

    Many small- to medium-sized online retailers are entrepreneurial companies. Their owners and employees often have diverse responsibilities, and it is common for a single person to handle multiple tasks, such as customer service, email marketing, order processing and website design. Unf...

  • Platforms & Apps

    Cart of the Week: VevoCart

    March 12, 2010 •

    This week, we'll hear from John Panyavorachart, co-founder and CEO of Vevo Systems, developers of VevoCart. The company is located in Bangkok, Thailand, and its shopping cart currently serves around 6,000 users. We'll also hear from a VevoCart customer, Stephen Bowden, director of marketing and operations for Tres Beau, a site that sells wedding accessories.

  • User Experience

    Accessibility Review: Target.com

    March 11, 2010 •

    Target.com is well known in the world of web accessibility. It was sued in 2006 by the National Federation of the Blind, Bruce F. Sexton, Jr., and the National Federation of the Blind of California because its website was not accessible to visually impaired shoppers. The lawsuit was ult...

  • Platforms & Apps

    The PEC Review: Chimpified Connects Two Powerful Platforms

    March 8, 2010 •

    There are thousands of ecommerce-related products and services that small- to mid-sized merchants can use to improve their businesses. But often the challenge to engaging these products and services is not funding, or even the products' capabilities. Instead, it is the difficulty associ...

  • Platforms & Apps

    Cart of the Week: BV Commerce

    March 5, 2010 •

    This week, we'll hear from Marcus C. McConnell, founder and president of BV Software, the developers of the hosted BV Commerce shopping cart and a licensed ecommerce package called BV Commerce Toolkit. The company is based in Richmond, Va. and its ecommerce software currently has around 5,000 active users. We'll also hear from a BV Commerce customer

  • Platforms & Apps

    Cart of the Week: CoreCommerce

    February 26, 2010 •

    This week, we'll hear from Matt DeLong, president and CEO of CoreCommerce, developers of CoreCommerce shopping cart software. The company is based in Franklin Tenn., and its software has been used to create between 12,000 and 13,000 web stores, according to DeLong.

  • Design & Development

    Mobile Commerce Appeals to Young Adults

    February 25, 2010 •

    While it is true mobile devices are generating more web traffic, merchants should be aware of the demographics of mobile users and the products they are buying. Surveys taken in early 2010 have similar results in the age breakdown of mobile users. One survey by Retrevo, a shopping com...

  • Design & Development

    Five Web Design Concepts Ecommerce Merchants Need to Know

    February 23, 2010 •

    Editor's Note: Ecommerce merchants operate businesses using complex technologies. We launched our "Need to Know" series to help merchants obtain a basic understanding of these technologies, recognizing that most merchants are not web developers or programmers. In this installment, contr...

  • Design & Development

    SEO Expert on Mobile Commerce Strategies

    February 23, 2010 •

    An increasing number of consumers access the Internet via mobile devices. This has looming implications for ecommerce merchants who must decide what platforms their customers will use in the future.

  • Platforms & Apps

    The PeC Review: LemonStand is One Sweet Cart

    February 22, 2010 •

    The shopping-cart platform that an online business chooses can have a significant impact on its sales success. Select a cart that is too simple or basic and it may not scale as your company grows or it may not offer the features you need to cross-sell, merchandise, or engage loyal cust...

  • Platforms & Apps

    Cart of the Week: ezStore123 by Digital Things

    February 19, 2010 •

    This week, we'll hear from Michael M. Gioan, general manager for Digital Things, LLC, the Huntington Beach, Calif.-based producers of ezStore123 shopping cart software. According to Gioan, the cart currently has around 40 users. "Until 2009, it was sold as a custom application. It has now been 'productized' with standard features and corresponding

  • Design & Development

    Simplicity Key for Mobile-optimized Ecommerce Sites

    February 18, 2010 •

    We recently reported how mobile Internet devices outsold computers in 2009. And, while the percentage of ecommerce sales conducted on a mobile device is still small (0.8 percent is a generous estimate), this number is increasing. Many ecommerce vendors are beginning to offer mobile sol...

  • Design & Development

    Mobile Commerce: Experts Offer Strategy for Smaller Merchants

    February 16, 2010 •

    Depending on the source, analysts predict U.S. ecommerce merchants will generate in 2010 between $120 billion and $200 billion sales. Mobile commerce is a small fraction of this total. But as mobile usage becomes mainstream, and as a variety of devices expand the mobile web, online reta...

  • Platforms & Apps

    Cart of the Week: PDG Commerce

    February 12, 2010 •

    There are more than 500 online shopping carts. And each week we feature one, interviewing both the cart's developer and a customer. "Cart of the Week" is not a review or an evaluation, but rather an opportunity to learn about a shopping cart from the people who build it and use it. Thi...

  • Platforms & Apps

    Cart of the Week: Dextel Ecommerce Manager

    February 5, 2010 •

    There are more than 500 online shopping carts. And each week we feature one, interviewing both the cart's developer and a customer. "Cart of the Week" is not a review or an evaluation, but rather an opportunity to learn about a shopping cart from the people who build it and use it. Thi...

  • User Experience

    Mobile Commerce: Better to Create an App or a Mobile-optimized Site?

    February 4, 2010 •

    As an increasing number of mobile users access the web, merchants may be unsure exactly how to react. Should they build a mobile optimized site, design and submit an app to be approved by the Apple App Store or Android Market, or something else? Mobile users have different web needs th...

  • Platforms & Apps

    Cart of the Week: Whirlwind eCommerce

    January 29, 2010 •

    This week, we'll hear from Mark Wexler, a partner in Whirlwind eCommerce, a Bethesda, Maryland software development company, and the makers of the Whirlwind eCommerce shopping cart. According to Wexler, "About four dozen websites use the engine. Of those, about three dozen are ecommerce sites. It has a great content management system, which attracts a lot of publishing, hospitality and other non-ecommerce clients." We'll also hear from a Whirlwind eCommerce customer

  • User Experience

    Four Strategies to Improve Shopper Experience

    January 28, 2010 •

    How we shop is going to change. Digital interactivity at brick-and-mortar stores, mobile commerce, and rich Internet applications are going to have a significant effect on shopper experience in the next few years. But most of the changes to the shopper experience will not come overnigh...

  • Design & Development

    Are PCI Standards Helpful? Take the Survey and Tell Us Your Views

    January 26, 2010 •

    Payment Card Industry (PCI) standards represent the credit card industry’s attempt to self-regulate and protect consumers’ credit card data. The PCI Security Standards Council, which five major issuers (Visa, MasterCard, American Express, Discover and JCB) formed in 2006, organizes and ...

  • Design & Development

    The PeC Review: Google’s Translator Toolkit

    January 25, 2010 •

    Ecommerce makes the world smaller. Or, so it might seem. Shoppers in Budapest can by products from the U.S., while an American teen could be downloading folk music from a site in Nepal. What's more, expanding your customer bases to include potential shoppers from around the world can s...

  • Platforms & Apps

    Cart of the Week: Ecwid

    January 22, 2010 •

    In this "Cart of the Week" installment, we feature Ecwid, an ecommerce platform that can be installed on any website by inserting three lines of HTML into the source code.

  • Design & Development

    Quick Query: mPayy CEO Explains Mobile Payments

    January 20, 2010 •

    Mobile devices could be the next major platform from which consumers shop for products. But, for ecommerce merchants, there are issues with mobile commerce having to do with screen size, product images, and payments. Payments on a mobile device, from a consumer to a merchant, can be dif...

  • Design & Development

    AppMakr CEO on Affordable iPhone, Android App Development

    January 19, 2010 •

    The iPhone is now among the most popular gadgets of all-time, but the cost of developing applications for the iPhone App Store has been a barrier for smaller businesses that cannot afford the steep charges of app developers. AppMakr, a service that allows anyone to make iPhone applicati...

  • Platforms & Apps

    Cart of the Week: AbleCommerce Shopping Cart

    January 15, 2010 •

    This week, we'll hear from Logan Rhodehamel, president of AbleCommerce, makers of the AbleCommerce shopping cart. The Vancouver, Wash.-based company has been producing its ecommerce solution for 15 years, and there are currently approximately 11,000 active cart users. We'll also hear from an AbleCommerce cart user, Carl Anderson, webmaster for the Seattle, Wash.-based online store, Anne Geddes Gift Shop & Baby Boutique.

  • User Experience

    Mobile Commerce: Simulators Show Your Site’s Appearance on Mobile Devices

    January 14, 2010 •

    Last week, I cited estimates for the number of Internet-capable mobile devices sold in 2009, and how this has already outpaced the number of computers sold, both portable and desktop. Here I’ll show you some useful tools for determining how effectively your site, in its present form, op...

  • Design & Development

    Mobile Internet Devices, By the Numbers

    January 11, 2010 •

    Last week, I reported on how the number of mobile devices is exploding worldwide. But coming up with an estimate for the total number of smartphone handsets sold this year is difficult, and numbers vary depending on the source. A report by Smart Analytics stated 43 million smartphones w...

  • Platforms & Apps

    Cart of the Week: Earth Skater

    January 8, 2010 •

    This week, we'll hear from Sener "Sean" Korkusuz, president of Earth Skater, developers of Earth Skater shopping cart. The Boca Raton, Fla.-based company serves approximately 100 online stores that use the cart. We'll also hear from an Earth Skater customer, David Jones, owner of UnwiredSignal.com.

Popular
Streaming Webcasts
Instant Video

Copyright © 2005 - 2025. Practical Ecommerce® is a registered trademark of Confluence Distribution, Inc.