building an ecommerce website

1.WEB SERVER

need a web server for hosting a website.

Web servers need to run web server software that manages access attempts to a
website. When a user (client) tries to access a website such as
http://www.somewebsite.com the web server software the server processes the access
request and serves up the correct files that have been requested from the
client machine. Examples of two different web server software packages are Windows
IIS (internet information services) that runs on Windows based web servers
and Apache that runs on Linux based web servers. Server software runs in the
background and works over a network to allow a browser stored on a client machine
to access the files that make up an eCommerce site.

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2. BROWSER COMPATIBILITY AND DEVICE COMPATIBILITY

website should work properly on all browsers (html code, css, image and
information that is stored in a database connected to the website are rendered
together to make the site appear in the browser window.)

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3.WEB AUTHORIZING TOOLS

HTML
CSS
BOOTSTRAP
JAVA SCRIPT

WEB AUTHORIZING PACKAGES

DREAMWEAVER

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4. DATABASE

A database system is an integral part of an eCommerce website. The database

is used to store information about the products that are for sale on the store.
The database will store pricing, description, images and details of the number of
each products and services that are available. In addition to this the
customer details are stored when they make a purchase such as what they
ordered, the payment details, shipping details, phone number and email
address etc. Staff who are responsible for the delivery of items will use the
database that is connected to the eCommerce site to ensure all the correct products
are sent to the correct customer for each purchase on the site. It is
important to program the website to connect securely to the database so that all
orders are processed correctly and the business runs smoothly. Technologies
such as PHP (a programming script) and MySQL are used to communication between
the website and the database management system (DBMS).

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5.NETWORK PROTOCOLS
 In networking TCP/IP is a protocol used to transfer data and information over
a network such as the internet. TCP (transfer control protocol) is a wired
connection between different machines on the internet. A protocol is a rule of how
connections are set up between two devices. Anyone using the internet to access an
eCommerce website will use TCP/IP. IP stands for internet protocol and each
device on a network has a fully unique IP address. When a shopper tries to access
an eCommerce store they do not need to know the IP address of the web server
that the store is hosted on but can type a URL such as http://www.shop.com into a
browser window instead. TCP/IP is a complex technology and normally an
eCommerce site developer does not have to have in depth knowledge of the
protocols but should understand that they exist.

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6.PORTS

Ports on different devices allow them to connect to other devices stored on

the internet. Ports allow a device with one IP address to access another device
with a different unique IP address. A device will normally have more than one port,
for example when one user wants to send an email to another they will allow
access through port 25 as this is normally reserved for email. When a shopper on a
client machine wants to access an eCommerce website they will connect IP addresses
from their machine to the web server that stores the eCommerce site over port
80. Other Protocols such as FTP (file transfer protocol) is the set of rules used
to communicate information between two devices running on a TCP/IP based
network. If the customer shopping online was to request a receipt this would be
sent to them using FTP.

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7.When designing an eCommerce site it is important that everything is programmed

correctly and that you consider the programming requirements in advance of
designing the system. Examples of programming that you might need would be
embedding javascript in your website to increase functionality. PHP might be used
to connect the website to the backend database. Complex search queries to find
information about your products would need to run on the backend database based on
what the shopper is looking for on your site. There are other programming
requirements to consider such as embedding security in your site so that customers�
credit and debit card information is secure when they purchase from your store.
Download speeds: When running an online business it is important to constantly
monitor download speeds of your customers using analytics tools such as Google
analytics. You also need to tailor your website so that the images are as
compressed as possible without compromising the quality of the site. All coding and
markup must run as efficiently as possible so that the site loads as quickly as
possible. If users cannot access the information swiftly they will be more inclined
to leave your site straight away. When monitoring how customers connect to your
site using analytics you can see which browser they use and the speed of their
internet connection. If a large amount of your customers had a slow internet
connection then it would be important to ensure that the site was as optimised as
possible to cope with the majority. Browser and platform compatibility: As
mentioned previously it is very important to ensure that your site is tested on a
number of different operating systems running different browsers. You can then
monitor the analytics and ensure that the main combinations are catered for. If 50%
of your customers were using IE6 browser on Windows XP then you would need to
ensure that the site performed correctly with this browser and platform. If you had
1 visit per month from a Linux operating system using the Safari browser then it
would not be worth investing the time and money to ensure that your site was
compatible with this browser and platform combination. However, if 50% of your
customers come to the site using this browser and platform then the site needs to
perform well for this. This information should help you understand the different
technologies used in an e-commerce system.

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Front End: HTML, CSS, JavaScript, Ajax

Database: Mysql, MS Sql.. or any other DB.

Server Side Language: PHP/ java,JSP / ASP

Frameworks: Woocommerce, Magento, Opencart, prestashop