Chapter 3 Building E-Commerce Presence PDF

E-Commerce: Business. Technology. Society Chapter 3 Building an E-Commerce 2024-2025 Copyright © 2019 Pearson Education, Ltd. Learning Objectives 3.1 Understand the questions you must ask and answer, and the steps you should take, in developing an e-commerce presence. 3...

E-Commerce: Business. Technology. Society Chapter 3 Building an E-Commerce 2024-2025 Copyright © 2019 Pearson Education, Ltd. Learning Objectives 3.1 Understand the questions you must ask and answer, and the steps you should take, in developing an e-commerce presence. 3.2 Explain the process that should be followed in building an e-commerce presence. 3.3 Identify and understand the major considerations involved in choosing web server and e-commerce merchant server software. 3.4 Understand the issues involved in choosing the most appropriate hardware for an e-commerce site. 3.5 Identify additional tools that can improve website performance. 3.6 Understand the important considerations involved in developing a mobile website and building mobile applications. The Financial Times: A Remodel for 21st Century Publishing Profitability Class Discussion What were the Financial Times’ objectives in redesigning its e-commerce presence? What considerations, if any, unique to the newspaper business were involved? What did the Financial Times do to meet the needs of mobile device users? Imagine Your E-Commerce Presence (1 of 3) What’s the idea? The vision includes: Mission statement Target audience Intended market space Strategic analysis Marketing matrix Development timeline Preliminary budget Imagine Your E-Commerce Presence (2 of 3) What is the ballpark? Who and where is Where’s the money? Characterize the the target audience? marketplace Business model(s) Demographics, Size, growth, Revenue model(s) lifestyle, demographics, consumption structure patterns, etc. Business model is made up of components – the value created; the operating model, which specifies how the business works and operates. Revenue model, which specifies how the business makes money and how much does it spends in doing so. Imagine Your E-Commerce Presence (3 of 3) Where’s the content coming from? Know yourself—S W O T analysis Develop an e-commerce presence map Develop a timeline: Milestones How much will this cost? Simple website: up to $5000 Small startup: $25,000 to $50,000 Large corporate website: $100,000+ to millions S W O T Analysis E-Commerce Presence Map Building an E-Commerce Site: A Systematic Approach Most important management challenges: 1. Developing a clear understanding of business objectives 2. Knowing how to choose the right technology to achieve those objectives Main factors to consider – Management – Hardware architecture – Software – Design – Telecommunications – Human resources Planning: The Systems Development Life Cycle Methodology for understanding business objectives of a system and designing an appropriate solution Five major steps: – Systems analysis/planning – Systems design – Building the system – Testing – Implementation Website Systems Development Life Cycle 1. System Analysis/Planning 2. System 3. Information 1. Business objectives functionalities requirements List of capabilities you List of information Information elements want your site to system capabilities that system must have needed to achieve produce in order to business objectives achieve business objectives System Analysis, Business Objectives, System Functionalities, and Information Requirements for a Typical E-Commerce Site (1 of 2) Business Objective System Functionality Information Requirements Display goods Digital Catalog Dynamic text and graphics catalog Provide product Product database Product description, stocking numbers, inventory information levels Personalize/customize Customer on-site tracking Site log for every customer visit; data mining product capability to identify common customer paths and appropriate responses Engage customers in On-site blog; user forums Software with blogging and community forum conversations functionality Execute a transaction Shopping cart/payment Secure credit card clearing; multiple payment system options Accumulate customer Customer database Name, address, phone, and e-mail for all customers; information online customer registration System Analysis, Business Objectives, System Functionalities, and Information Requirements for a Typical E-Commerce Site (2 of 2) Business Objective System Functionality Information Requirements Provide after-sale Sales database Customer ID, product, date, payment, shipment customer support date Coordinate Ad server, e-mail server, e- Site behavior log of prospects and customers linked marketing/advertising mail, campaign manager, ad to e-mail and banner ad campaigns banner manager Understand marketing Site tracking and reporting Number of unique visitors, pages visited, products effectiveness system purchased, identified by marketing campaign Provide production and Inventory management Product and inventory levels, supplier ID and supplier links system contact, order quantity data by product 2. Systems Design: Hardware and Software Platforms System design specification: – Description of main components of a system and their relationship to one another Two components of system design: a) Logical design b) Physical design Data flow diagrams, processing Specifies actual physical, software functions, databases components, models, and so on a) Logical Design for a Simple Website (a) Simple Data Flow Diagram This data flow diagram describes the flow of information requests and responses for a sample Web site b) Physical Design for a Simple Website 3. Building the System: In-House Versus Outsourcing Outsourcing: Hiring vendors to provide services involved in building site Build own v s. outsourcing: ersu – Build your own requires team with diverse skill set; choice of software tools; both risks and possible benefits Host own v s. outsourcing ersu – Hosting: Hosting company responsible for ensuring site is accessible 24/7, for monthly fee – Co-location: Firm purchases or leases Web server (with control over its operation), but server is located at vendor’s facility Choices in Building and Hosting Insight on Business: Weebly Makes Creating Websites Easy Class Discussion – What value does Weebly offer to small businesses? – Are there any drawbacks to using Weebly to create an e- commerce presence? – How are service providers like Weebly changing the nature of e-commerce? 4. Testing the System Testing – Unit testing – System testing – Acceptance testing – A/B testing (split testing) – Multivariate testing 5. Implementation and Maintenance Systems break down unpredictably Maintenance is ongoing Maintenance costs: Similar to development costs – A $40K e-commerce site may require $40K annually to upkeep Benchmarking Factors in Website Optimization Simple versus. Multi-Tiered Website Architecture System architecture: Arrangement of software, machinery, and tasks in an information system needed to achieve a specific functionality a. Two-tier b. Multi-tier Web server and database server Web application servers Backend, legacy databases a) Two-Tier E-Commerce Architecture b) Multi-Tier E-Commerce Architecture Web Server Software Apache – Leading web server software – Works with UNIX, Linux operating systems – Reliable, stable, part of open software community Microsoft’s Internet Information Server (IIS) – Second major web server software – Windows-based – Integrated, easy-to-use Basic Functionality Provided by Web Servers Functionality Description Processing of HTTP requests Receive and respond to client requests for HTML pages Security services (Secure Verify username and password; process certificates and Sockets Layer)/ Transport Layer private/public key information required for credit card Security processing and other secure information File Transfer Protocol Permits transfer of very large files from server to server Search engine Indexing of site content; keyword search capability Data capture Log file of all visits, time, duration, and referral source E-mail Ability to send, receive, and store e-mail messages Site management tools Calculate and display key site statistics, such as unique visitors, page requests, and origin of requests; check links on pages Site Management Tools Basic tools included in all web servers Verify that links on pages are still valid Identify orphan files Third-party software for advanced management Monitor customer purchases Marketing campaign effectiveness Keep track of hit counts and other statistics E.g. Webtrends Analytics 10 Dynamic Page Generation Tools Dynamic page generation: – Contents stored in database and fetched when needed Common tools: – CGI, ASP, JSP, ODBC, JDBC Advantages – Lowers menu costs – Permits easy online market segmentation – Enables cost-free price discrimination – Enables content management system (CMS) Application Servers Web application servers: – Provide specific business functionality required for a website – Type of middleware ▪ Isolate business applications from Web servers and databases – Single-function applications being replaced by integrated software tools that combine all functionality needed for e-commerce site E-Commerce Merchant Server Software Provides basic functionality for sales List of products available on Allows shoppers to set Typically works in website aside, review, edit conjunction with shopping selections, and then make cart purchase Verifies card and puts through credit to company’s account at checkout Credit card Online catalog Shopping cart processing Merchant Server Software Packages (1 of 2) Integrated environment that includes most of functionality needed – Shopping cart – Merchandise display – Order management Two main options – E-commerce merchant service sites (e.g. Yahoo Aabaco Small Business) – Open-source merchant server software Merchant Server Software Packages (2 of 2) Key factors in selecting a package – Functionality – Support for different business models, including (m-commerce) – Business process modeling tools – Visual site management and reporting – Performance and scalability – Connectivity to existing business systems – Compliance with standards – Global and multicultural capability – Local sales tax and shipping rules Choosing Hardware Hardware platform: – Underlying computing equipment needed for e-commerce functionality Objective: – Enough platform capacity to meet peak demand without wasting money Important to understand the factors that affect speed, capacity, and scalability of a site Right-Sizing Your Hardware Platform: the Demand Side Customer demand: – Most important factor affecting speed of site Factors in overall demand: – Number of simultaneous users in peak periods – Nature of customer requests (user profile) – Type of content (dynamic v s. static Web pages) ersu – Required security – Number of items in inventory – Number of page requests – Speed of legacy applications Right-Sizing Your Hardware Platform: the Supply Side Scalability: Ability of site to increase in size as demand warrants Ways to scale hardware: a. Vertically ▪ Increase processing power of individual components b. Horizontally ▪ Employ multiple computers to share workload c. Improve processing architecture d. Outsource to cloud service, C D N Vertical and Horizontal Scaling Techniques Technique Application Use a faster computer Deploy edge servers, presentation servers, data servers, etc. Create a cluster of computers Use computers in parallel to balance loads. Use appliance servers Use special-purpose computers optimized for their task. Segment workload Segment incoming work to specialized computers. Batch requests Combine related requests for data into groups, process as group. Manage connections Reduce connections between processes and computers to a minimum. Aggregate user data Aggregate user data from legacy applications in single data pools. Cache Store frequently used data in cache rather than on the disk. Improving the Processing Architecture of Your Site Architecture Improvement Description Separate static content from Use specialized servers for each type of workload. dynamic content Cache static content Increase RAM to the gigabyte range and store static content in RAM. Cache database lookup tables Use cache tables used to look up database records. Consolidate business logic on Put shopping cart, credit card processing, and dedicated servers other CPU-intensive activity on dedicated servers. Optimize ASP code Examine your code to ensure it is operating efficiently. Optimize the database schema Examine your database search times and take steps to reduce access times. Other E-Commerce Site Tools Website design: Basic business considerations – Enabling customers to find and buy what they need Tools for search engine optimization – Search engine placement ▪ Metatags, titles, content ▪ Identify market niches ▪ Offer expertise ▪ Links ▪ Buy ads ▪ Local e-commerce E-Commerce Website Features That Annoy Customers (1 of 2) Feature Requiring user to view ad or intro page before going to website content Pop-up and pop-under ads and windows Too many clicks to get to the content Links that don’t work Confusing navigation; no search function Requirement to register and log in before viewing content or ordering Slow loading pages Content that is out of date E-Commerce Website Features That Annoy Customers (2 of 2) Inability to use browser’s Back button No contact information available (web form only) Unnecessary splash/flash screens, animation, etc. Music or other audio that plays automatically Unprofessional design elements Text not easily legible due to size, color, format Typographical errors No or unclear returns policy The Eight Most Important Factors in Successful E- Commerce Site Design Factor Description Functionality Pages that work, load quickly, and point the customer toward your product offerings Informational Links that customers can easily find to discover more about you and your products Ease of use Simple foolproof navigation Redundant navigation Alternative navigation to the same content Ease of purchase One or two clicks to purchase Multi-browser Site works with the most popular browsers functionality Simple graphics Avoids distracting, obnoxious graphics and sounds that the user cannot control Legible text Avoids backgrounds that distort text or make it illegible Tools for Interactivity and Active Content CGI (Common Gateway Interface) ASP (Active Server Pages)/ASP.NET Java, JSP, and JavaScript ActiveX and VB Script ColdFusion PHP, Ruby on Rails, Django Other design elements: – Widgets, mashups Personalization Tools Personalization: Ability to treat people based on personal qualities and prior history with site Customization: Ability to change the product to better fit the needs of the customer Cookies: Primary method to achieve personalization The Information Policy Set Privacy policy: Set of public statements declaring how site will treat customers’ personal information that is gathered by site Accessibility rules: Set of design objectives that ensure disabled users can effectively access site Insight on Society: Designing for Accessibility Class discussion: – Why might some merchants be reluctant to make their websites accessible to disabled users? – How can websites be made more accessible? – Should all websites be required by law to provide “equivalent alternatives” for visual and sound content? – What additional accessibility problems do mobile devices pose? Developing a Mobile Website and Building Mobile Applications Types of m-commerce software – Mobile website ▪ Responsive Web design – Mobile Web app – Native app – Hybrid app ▪ Runs inside native container ▪ App distribution ▪ Based on HTML5, CSS, JavaScript Planning and Building a Mobile Presence Identify business objectives, system functionality, and information requirements Choice: – Mobile website or mobile Web app ▪ Less expensive – Native app ▪ Can use device hardware, available offline Unique Features That Must be Taken into Account When Designing a Mobile Presence Feature Implications For Mobile Platform Hardware Mobile hardware is smaller, and there are more resource constraints in data storage and processing power. Connectivity The mobile platform is constrained by slower connection speeds than desktop websites. Displays Mobile displays are much smaller and require simplification. Some screens are not good in sunlight. Interface Touch-screen technology introduces new interaction routines different from the traditional mouse and keyboard. The mobile platform is not a good data entry tool but can be a good navigational tool. Mobile Presence Design Considerations Platform constraints – Graphics, file sizes Mobile first design – Desktop website design after mobile design Responsive web design (RWD) – CSS site adjusts layout of site according to device screen resolutions Adaptive web design (AWD) – Server delivers different templates or versions of site optimized for device Cross-Platform Mobile App Development Tools Objective C, Java Low cost, open-source alternatives – Appery.io – Codiqa – PhoneGap – MoSync – Appcelerator Mobile Presence: Performance and Cost Considerations Mobile first design: Most efficient Mobile website: – Resizing existing website for mobile access is least expensive Mobile web app: – Can utilize browser API Native app: – Most expensive; requires more programming Thank you!