Technologies in ecommerce

TECHNOLOGIES REQUIRED TO BUILD AN ECOMMERCE WEBSITE

Over the last many years, ecommerce has changed how people buy and sell online. The Internet offers a quick and easy way for people to buy things without having to visit a real store. An online store can reach customers anywhere in the world. Online businesses are rapidly developing an ecommerce website to face times of economic adversity by offering greater discounts, flat-rate delivery, loyalty programs, and other incentives.  There are many popular ecommerce platforms that make it easy to run promotions and keep your customers happy. Finally, although the boom in online sales has also opened a potential avenue for fraud and scams, site-builders have managed to stay ahead by offering top-of-the-line site protection and payment security to keep the online marketplace as safe as possible.

Building a successful ecommerce site has become one of the most popular business trends. It may seem like a herculean task to set up an online business (not underestimating it either) or the actual e-commerce website development, but in real it isn’t that big of a hurdle as you’ve probably been hearing from most of the folks out there.

THE HARDWARE

Computer

Most current computers and laptops have high enough specifications to be used to create a website. The most important specification to check on the computer would be the size of the RAM, which should be over 2GB, though more is better. This will ensure that the computer runs quickly and smoothly, even with heavier programs such as website editors or photo editors. The computer should have a keyboard and mouse attached and working as well.

Internet

In order to create a website, access to a high-speed Internet connection can be vital. This allows you to transfer the files that will make up your website to the online server that will be hosting your website, post updates on your website and look at your website live online to make sure that it is displaying correctly.

External Hard Drive or DVDs for Backup

You should always keep a fairly current backup of your website in case there is an issue where the site crashes or files become corrupted. You can keep this backup on an external hard drive or a set of DVDs, depending on your preference. It is possible for an external hard drive to crash, losing your backup, but DVDs can be more unwieldy and can also scratch causing data loss. How often you should create a backup depends on how often you update your website, but once a month for a regularly-updated site can be a good amount of time.

Camera

Unless your website is going to consist only of text, you will want to have a way to get some digital photos and videos for your website. While you can buy stock photos and videos, these can end up being expensive if you need many of them, and they may not be as specific as the shots you need. A digital camera with video capability will allow you to take photos and videos that can be downloaded to your computer and added to your website. Because you took the photos and shot the videos yourself, you don't need to worry about copyright infringement of other people's media.

Server

You will need a server computer to host your website on to make sure that it is available all the time for anyone trying to access it. While you can set up a computer to act as a web server, this is a highly complicated task, and it is far easier, more reliable and cost-effective to simply purchase a hosting package from a web hosting company. They will keep and maintain the server computer, and you will be able to access it to change files on your website.

Mobile Devices

While not necessary, many free website creation softwares allow users to adjust, update and work on their website from a mobile device. If you are on the go often and would like to be able to make adjustments to your site from wherever you are at, you may want to look into getting a web-enabled smartphone or device.

THE SOFTWARE

Doing online business means trades of goods from your Webstore to the customer, and trade means transactions. The idea of creating an online store raises few questions in everyone’s mind like ‘how’ and ‘who’ can build my e-commerce store? On what platforms can my ecommerce store be built? How can I find products to sell on my online store and how the transactions will be handled?

Like all business requires proper planning, discussion, backup plans, contingency plan, similarly before building any e-commerce store, you need proper planning about everything. Before starting, you need to think and list down all the possible aspects repercussions regarding online business.

Write your e-business plans. The e-commerce plans start with website goals. Who will be your targeted audience? What kind of products and services you want to offer. How much time and money you need to make your online presence. How will you handle shipping and payments?

Although there are many ecommerce and website hosting platforms, you must choose a perfect platform where your ecommerce store can be built.

It all seems difficult at first, but with every step, you will grasp things easily. A lot of the things which didn’t make sense at first would probably start resonating with time. Here’s a rundown of everything which requires opening an e-commerce store. Let’s get down to business:

The Process of E-commerce Website Development- Let’s Get Started!

There are many ecommerce tools and technologies required to build an e-commerce store and operate a successful online business. Both software and hardware technologies must be included in your e-business plan.

Web Server

A web server is used to host an e-commerce website. All the Html, JavaScript, PHP files, databases, media files that make up the entire website are stored on this server. The web server runs on Windows or Linux operating system. Managing a web server is a very specific job. The website development companies host the site on their own web server or pay a hosting company to provide space on a secure web server.

Server Software

When a user visits any website on a web browser, the web server knows the client is requesting some specific information. So it processes that request and serves the correct files to the client. The web browser then displays these files to the user.

There are many types of server software available including application software, database server, file server software, and cloud computing software. The popular web server software includes Apache and Windows IIS. Server software can either use on a physical server or on a virtual / cloud server.

Web Tools

A web authoring tool is used to create the front end of an e-commerce website. They range from basic HTML text editors (like Notepad++) to more complex graphic authoring tools and CMS (content management system) with built-in frameworks and debugging tools.

Html files are created by Dreamweaver along with the CSS (cascading style sheet) which enhance the visual appearance of the site. Another web authoring tool would be Visual Studio .net that can be used to make the sites which have integrated databases in it. Graphic design packages are also web authoring tools which design the skin for a user interface.

Database System

A database is an integral part of an e-commerce website. The database is used to store information about the products and services of the website such as pricing, description, image, details, and sales. In addition to this, the customer details are also stored in the database like what they ordered, their payment details, shipping details, and contact information.

It is necessary to program the website to connect securely to the database so that all the orders are processed correctly and your business runs smoothly. Technologies like PHP and MySQL are the communication route between the website and the DBMS (database management system).

Networking

TCP (transfer control protocol) and IP (internet protocol) defines as how computers should connect with each other through the internet and how they share information. Common TCP/IP protocols are HTTPS, HTTP, and FTP. We use these protocols to access the website without even realizing it. FTP (file transfer protocol) used to download files from a browser.

HTTPS (where the “S” stands for security) responsible for the secure communication between a server and a browser like an account information or personal information.

For an e-commerce website or online store, it is considered essential to provide a secure connection. SSL (secure sockets layer) and TLS (transport layer security) are the protocols associated with trust and security of any e-commerce website.

Browser Compatibility

A web browser is a software application that is used to locate, receive and display content received from the web servers. Popular web browsers include Mozilla Firefox, Google Chrome, Internet Explorer and Safari. Web developers and Web development agencies test the website see how it displays on multiple browsers across multiple devices and screen sizes before launching the website.

The Tip: To analyze website traffics, use tools like Google Analytics to get an idea as what browsers people are using and which one is the most popular.

Ports

Ports allow one device to connect with the other through a different and unique IP address. A device can have more than one port.

Port 25 (SMTP) is usually reserved for email. It is used to transmit data from remote email servers. If that port is blocked no emails can be sent. Some other common port numbers are 80(HTTP), 443 (HTTPS), 21 (FTP), 22 (SSH). Firewalls can often block a port to tighten the security.

Domain Names

Domain names link to a company or a brand. Successful e-commerce companies have recognizable domain names. If you have any smaller business then it is best to select the domain name as per your business name. This would help to rank highly in search engines.

If a business becomes successful online, it is important to protect the brand by doing multiple registrations of domain names such as .com, .net, .uk, .org, .co

Doing this ensures that no one can steal your business by copying your business model.

Here is a quick recap that will help you put everything into place.

1: Front End: HTML, CSS, JavaScript, Ajax, JQuery
2: Server Side Scripting: PHP, ASP
3: CMS: WordPress + Woo commerce, Magento, OpenCart, PrestaShop
4: Database: MySQL, MSSQL 

What is business development for ecommerce?

Business development is a relatively vague term with a purpose and responsibility that differs from company to company. While the definition has been infinitely discussed, the ultimate objective of business development is to find strategic opportunities that create long-term value.

Web Technologies for E-Commerce Web Development

Websites and apps have become crucial for businesses and organizations to showcase their services, goods, and brands. To this end, you need a website that is well designed with feature-rich apps. Modern ecommerce web technologies have acquired a status where it’s not mandatory for businesses to develop e-commerce websites or apps right from scratch.

Here are the ten latest web technologies for e-commerce web development that will help you make a practical decision.

Magento

Shopify

WooCommerce

BigCommerce

OpenCart

Drupal Commerce

Volusion

OsCommerce

SimpleCart

Squarespace

Magento

Till date, Magento is the most famous and reliable e-commerce platform when it comes to B2B & B2C customers. Magento is a powerful SEO friendly platform with multiple features that can be readily customized. Magento’s ability to integrate with third-party products & services makes it a favorite among the customer community.

Shopify

For an e-commerce website, Shopify is a very popular SEO compliant and constantly evolving web technology. Besides an impressive professionally designed template for your storefront, there are several add-ons with responsive checkout being one of them. Another excellent feature is that Bitcoins can be used by your customers to make payments.

WooCommerce

WooCommerce is undoubtedly an amazing choice for problem-free setups. It is a free e-commerce plugin that can integrate with WordPress enabling store owners to sell their products rapidly and easily. It is estimated that around 30 percent of online store owners rely on WooCommerce plugin not only to sell their products but also to ship them and collect payments.

BigCommerce

BigCommerce is quite popular because it has several new features and functions like built-in blogging, improved SEO and customer support round the clock. Its primary benefits are a user-friendly interface with a comprehensive knowledge base.

OpenCart

OpenCart is a practical and easy open source CMS endorsed by outstanding developers for e-commerce. Its features include several simple back-end plug-ins. You can edit CSS within the admin. But OpenCart’s support system is not very detailed compared to other systems.

Drupal Commerce

Drupal Commerce is an exceptional online content marketing platform for open-source content. It guarantees an excellent customer experience using the e-commerce website. It can easily incorporate SEO strategy and blog integration as it can integrate seamlessly with the Drupal CMS framework.

Volusion

Volusion is commonly used owing to several features, one of which is an easy-to-use interface. Although Volusion’s add-on shop is not as big as Shopify and a blog setup is not available, but account experts provide you with personalized services. Opposed to a responsive layout, the mobile site is used by Volusion stores.

OsCommerce

OsCommerce is one of the first open source systems available with a big support database and an active forum. Its prominence is due to its easy installation and user-friendly interface. Although some consumers consider OsCommerce’s design and software update to be a little outdated store owner have complete control over their store and database.

SimpleCart

SimpleCart is best suited to small online stores ‘ needs. It operates on HTML having a small footprint but supporting multiple currencies.

Squarespace

Squarespace enables you to design attractive websites with images and rich templates. With Squarespace, customers have complete control over inventories, product variants, coupon generation, and shipping setup. Squarespace inculcates all the essential tools to create a universal e-commerce store.

Ecommerce Technology Trends for 2019

Regardless of the maturity of your ecommerce presence, you need to keep looking ahead to guarantee future success. To raise your ecommerce efforts in 2019, you should benefit from these three evolving trends.

1. Sell your goods on social media

Effective marketing is about enhancing your messaging to appeal to your target audience, but messaging won’t matter if the audience never sees it. It’s important to meet your audience members where they spend most of their time. In other words, if your customer base is online, it’s on social media one-third of that time. Therefore, you’re missing a great opportunity if you are not selling on social media.

2. Remix the buyer’s reality

Although diverse reality technologies have yet to see conventional adoption, they have made huge efforts to that end. Just as the internet, augmented reality and virtual reality will be a total game changer for retail. While augmented reality might not be everywhere yet, ecommerce retailers that effectively integrate AR capabilities into the shopping experience tend to gain a substantial advantage over their competitors.

3. Increase Personalization and Customer Engagement

Compared to conventional retail shopping, ecommerce stores have virtually no personal interaction. Online stores have no personnel who can endorse products based on your interests, sensitivities, and predilections. To imitate this experience, ecommerce businesses influence personalization opportunities through the shopping drive. Just as online course providers are substituting the need for in-person teaching, ecommerce is swapping the need for in-store retail experiences.

Conclusion

There are multiple e-commerce tools and technologies. It’s always good to know what resources are actually required to build an ecommerce store from start-to-finish.  Professional ecommerce website design process is a documented outline of the steps needed to be taken from start to finish, which divides and categorizes the work and then breaks these high-level sections into tasks and resources. But once you have gone through the complete guide to the technologies needed for building an e-commerce site, things will become easier and systematic and will make your ecommerce development process smooth and fluid. While there’s been a lot of work on the growth and development of ecommerce, there are aspects of the technology that needs to be unearthed.