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

Design & Development
Get To Know Your .htaccess File

November 1, 2006 • Brian Getting

A valuable tool many web developers either don't understand or aren't aware of is the .htaccess file. The file is available only to websites hosted on servers running the Apache web server, which is the overwhelming majority of hosting servers. An .htaccess file is a small, plain-text f...
Design & Development
Quick Query: Second Bite’s Chad Herman

November 1, 2006 • PEC Staff

PeC: What does Second Bite do for online businesses? Herman: Second Bite gives the merchant the opportunity to remarket to any individual who, for whatever reason, is not able to complete the purchase at the time of the site visit. We get back in front of that consumer with a target...
Design & Dev Tools
Experiencing Server Overload

November 1, 2006 • Pamela Hazelton

Each month I talk about things I’ve learned by watching how other store owners run their businesses. Not that I don’t make my own mistakes, but I often try to keep my own embarrassing moments to myself. Until now... I’ve talked before about what to look for in a hosting company. I’ve t...
Design & Development
Tech Support: November 2006

November 1, 2006 • Brian Getting

What are Technorati tags and what do they do? Technorati is a website that provides an index of the web, allowing people to find up-to-the-minute information and web content. One of the ways Technorati achieves this is by using content tags, which are also used by other sites, that pro...
Code
Flash or HTML: Which to Choose

October 16, 2006 • Brian Getting

The question of whether it is better to design a website using Flash rather than using just HTML has sparked many debates among web developers. For the most part, it seems that developers tend to defend what they know, although there are some important differences between a pure HTML we...
Design & Development
Email: How It Works

October 7, 2006 • Brian Getting

Email has become one of the primary sources of communication among people in the world today, yet how it works remains a bit of a mystery to many people. In order to shed some light on the subject, let’s follow an email message from the sender to the recipient. Most people use some sor...
Design & Development
How To Start a Video Blog

October 7, 2006 • PEC Staff

Web logs, commonly referred to as "blogs," came into the mainstream about two years ago. Not really a newsletter or traditional .html-page publishing, blogs resemble more of a web-based diary where the creator records their thoughts, posts links or responds to questions. Initially, bl...
Design & Development
Should you consider a .ws domain?

October 4, 2006 • Dr. Ralph F. Wilson

"Exploding" is marketer's hype, perhaps to press full advantage out of GDI's multi-tier affiliate marketing structure (5 levels), "with the potential to earn commissions on unlimited levels as a GDI Master Affiliate."
Design & Development
Tech Support: October 2006

October 2, 2006 • Brian Getting

Question: I keep hearing about a two-tiered Internet. What is that? Brian Getting: Two-tiered Internet refers to the attempt by major telecommunication companies, who provide the infrastructure for Internet communications, to send information across the Internet in two separate speed...
Code
Tech Support: Isolate CSS and Javascript

October 1, 2006 • Brian Getting

Last month we discussed the separation of content, design and functionality when it comes to developing a website. We introduced the idea that HTML documents should contain primarily content, with as little markup code as possible. The reason for this is that any extra code dilutes the ...
Design & Development
AuctionCheckout.com’s John Waldron and Sloane Bouchever

October 1, 2006 • PEC Staff

PeC: What makes AuctionCheckout different from PayPal? In the PayPal environment today, if you're selling, the funds from your transactions are going into your PayPal account. PayPal is not a financial institution. They can freeze those funds. AuctionCheckout “Blue” is an auction-chec...
Design & Development
Using RSS To Expand Your Online Exposure

October 1, 2006 • PEC Staff

Rarely in the last 10 years has there been a technology with so much potential to explode your business’s online exposure for such little cost. Real Simple Syndication (RSS) makes it easy for non-techies to automatically display targeted third-party content on their websites and blogs w...
Design & Development
Product Images Matter

October 1, 2006 • PEC Staff

One distinct advantage to a brick-and-mortar store has over a business in the virtual world is that customers can touch the products on the racks and shelves at the local mall. Local retailers know that if they can get you to touch a product, you are more likely to leap from shopper to ...
Design & Development
Podcasting Can Increase Brand Awareness

October 1, 2006 • PEC Staff

It seems like it was just yesterday that entrepreneurs were advised to start blogging for the purpose of marketing their businesses. Now, there’s a whole new technology out there that’s a growing, but viable, option for cultivating your brand online: podcasting. What is "podcasting?" ...
Design & Development
Free Alternative to Microsoft Office

September 25, 2006 • PEC Staff

Anyone who ever priced the Microsoft Office Suite knows it represents a significant investment. A quick check of the Compusa.com website shows Microsoft Office Standard costs $399 and Microsoft Office Professional will set you back $449. Now, this doesn't discount the value of the softw...
Design & Development
Have You Ever Wondered How a Website Works?

September 18, 2006 • Brian Getting

In the most basic terms, a website is a collection of files on the hard drive of a server that can be accessed by the public. Since this is not a very satisfying explanation ...
Platforms & Apps
Shopping Cart Checklist

September 1, 2006 • PEC Staff

We’ve assembled a checklist to help you narrow your shopping cart requirements. The checklist is divided into six areas: function, shipping issues, payment processing, support, technical considerations and report generation. Function Is there a limit to the number of categories or pr...
Design & Development
The Future of Ecommerce Solutions

September 1, 2006 • PEC Staff

PeC: Given the trends in the marketplace, what do you see on the horizon for ecommerce solutions? Chowdhary: "This is such a dynamic field. Every day is a new day in the world of ecommerce. We see a lot of things, and looking in the near future, there are many different things that I...
Platforms & Apps
Hosted Shopping Cart Solutions

September 1, 2006 • PEC Staff

PeC: How would you describe the merits of a hosted solution compared to various software solutions that are in the marketplace? Krakovsky: I think it starts with the fundamental premise that people start businesses to sell products and services to customers, not necessarily deal wit...
Platforms & Apps
Getting to the Heart of the Cart

September 1, 2006 • PEC Staff

If you came to this article hoping we’d tell you exactly which shopping cart you should choose for your business, you will be disappointed. We don’t know. However, thanks to the expertise of a pair of industry veterans, the process of choosing a shopping cart is about to get easier for...
Platforms & Apps
Shopping Cart Software Solutions

September 1, 2006 • PEC Staff

PeC: What are some distinctive characteristics of shopping carts that you might share with a new ecommerce business? Randolph: I’d say everything has a place. Yahoo! Stores has over 150,000 merchants now so, without a doubt, the hosted solution has a place in the marketplace. There a...
Design & Development
Separate Content from Functionality and Design

September 1, 2006 • Brian Getting

A website can be broken down into three main development parts: content, design and functionality. To optimize a website for search engines, it’s important for developers to separate content, which is of interest to search engines, from design and functionality, which are not. Content ...
Design & Development
Does Google Checkout Affect Your Business?

September 1, 2006 • PEC Staff

On June 30, 2006 Google launched a service called Google Checkout. This is a new application allowing businesses to process online orders through Google. It serves as an alternative to PayPal or regular credit-card processing. It’s interesting to look at the launch of this service from...
Design & Development
GoECart’s Manish Chowdhary

September 1, 2006 • PEC Staff

Manish Chowdhary of GoECart outlines in great detail his vision of the future of online shopping carts as well as discussed some of the differences between software solutions and hosted ...
Design & Development
Create Your Own Online TV Station

August 28, 2006 • PEC Staff

It will happen! TV and the Internet will eventually merge into one giant multi-media "melting pot" that includes everything from live footage and old reruns to garage videos posted by your next door neighbor's kid. Just like cable TV fractured network TV, the Internet will enable everyo...
Design & Development
Stay Safe with Your Wireless Network

August 4, 2006 • PEC Staff

A wireless network can bring tremendous flexibility to your office, freeing employees to use laptops, tablet PCs and other devices at any desk-side meeting or conference-room presentation anywhere in the office suite. It can also eliminate the costs and restrictions involved with numero...
Design & Development
Use Scripting for Dynamic Websites

August 1, 2006 • Brian Getting

One of the first tasks when planning a website is to develop a strategy for delivering content and functionality to visitors. Since a website is a collection of HTML documents, the most basic approach is to simply code the information you want into these documents. Using this method re...
Design & Development
Control Panels Simplify Tasks

July 1, 2006 • Brian Getting

Every website needs to be hosted somewhere, and every web developer will need access to the hosting server in order to perform tasks such as setting up email accounts, managing databases and creating FTP (file transfer protocol) accounts. Since most websites are hosted with a third-part...
Design & Development
Tech Support – July 2006

July 1, 2006 • Brian Getting

Question: I’m contemplating either DSL, cable or a T-1 line for my business. How can I determine which Internet connection is best for my company? Brian Getting: While DSL, cable and T-1 lines all provide a high-speed, "always on" connection to the Internet, they differ in both the co...
Design & Development
Tech Support: June 2006

July 1, 2006 • Brian Getting

Question: What’s the difference between a web server and an email server? Brian Getting: In this case, both the web server and the email server are software packages that provide services, rather than referring to a hardware server that is running these applications. Web server sof...

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