ECOM6013 E-Commerce Technologies

Topic 4 Website Design, Testing and Maintenance

Planing: The Systems Development Life Cycle

1. Systems analysis/planing
   • Busisess objectives
   • System functionalities
   • Information requirements
2. Systems design
3. Building the system
4. Testing
5. Implementation

Quality Consideration

• Navigation
• Accessibility
• Scalability
• Reliability
• Maintainability
• Usability
• Compatibility and interoperability
• Security
• Readability

In-House / Outsourcing (Hiring vendors to provide services)

• Build own / outsourcing
• Host own / outsourcing (preferred)

Implementation, Maintenance, and Optimization

Systems break down unpredictably

• Ongoing maintenance
• Benchmarking

Website Optimization

• Page generation
• Page delivery
• Page Content

Simple vs. Multi-tier Website Architecture

System architecture: Arrangement of software, machinery, and tasks in an information system

Two-tier

• Web server
• Database server

Three-tier

• Web application servers
• Backend, legacy databases

Web Server Software

• Appache
  • Leading web server software
  • works on UNIX, Linux OS
  • Reliable
  • Stable
  • Open source
• Microsoft’s Internet Information Server (IIS)
  • Second major web server software
  • works on Windows OS
  • Integrated
  • Easy to use

Basic Functionality Provided by Web Servers

• Processing of HTTP requests
• Security services (Secure Sockets Layer) / Transport Layer Security
• File transfer protocol
• Search engine
• Data capture
• E-mail
• Site management tools
  • Verify links
  • Identify files
  • Monitor customer purchases
  • Marketing campign effictiveness
  • Track hits and other statistics
  • …

Dynamic Page Generation Tools

Contents stored in database and fetched when needed

• CGI
• ASP
• JSP
• ODBC
• JDBC

Advantages

• Lower menu costs
• Permits easy online market segmentation
• Enables cost-free price discrimination
• Enable content management system (CMS)

Application Servers

• Provide specific business functionality required for a website
• Isolate business applictaions from Web servers and databases (middleware)
• Sigle-function applictaions being replaced by integrated software tools that combine all functionality needed for e-commerce site

E-Commerce Merchants Server Software

• Provides basic functions for sales
  • Online catalog
  • Shopping cart
  • Credit card processing

Packages

• Integrated environment that includes most of functionality needed
  • Shopping cart
  • Merchandises display
  • Order management
• Different options for different-sized businesses
  • Small, Medium - Yahoo Small Business, open-source solutions
  • Mid-range - IBM Wbsphere Commerce Express,…
  • Hign-end - IBM WebSphere Professional/Enterprise,…
• Cloud-based SaaS solutions
• Key factors
  • Functionality
  • Support for different models (e.g. 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

Hardware Platform

• Demand Side (overall customer demand)
  • Number of simultaneous users in peak periods
  • User profile
  • Type of content (dynamic/static)
  • Required security
  • Number of items in inventory
  • Number of page requests
  • Speed of legacy application
• Supply Side
  • Scalability
    • Vertically (increase processing power of individual components)
    • Horizontally (multiple computers to share workload)
    • Improve processing architecture
    • Outsource hosting

Eight Most Important Factors in Successful E-Commerce Site Design

• Functionality
• Informational
• Ease of use
• Redundant navigation
• Ease of purchase
• Multi-browser functionality
• Simple graphics
• Legible text

Personalization Tools

• Persinalization (personal preference, prior history)
• Customization (better fit the needs)
• Cookies (primary method to achieve personalization)

Policy Set

• Privacy policy
• Accessibility (mainly for the disabled)

Mobile Website/Applications

• Type of m-commerce software
  • Moble website
  • Mobile web app
  • Native app
  • Hybrid app

Mobile Presence

• Identify business objectives, system functionality, and information requirements
  • Driving sales
  • Branding
  • Building customer community
  • Advertising and promotion
  • Gathering customer feedback
  • …
• Choices
  • Mobile first design (most efficient)
  • Mobile website (least expensive)
    • Responsive web design (RWD) - for different screen resolution
      • Automates the inclusion of content based on profiles
      • Fluid design
      • Optimized performance
      • Technically complex (implement, maintain and test)
      • Higher cost, larger database
    • Adaptive web design (AWD) - for different devices
  • Mobile web app (can utilize browser API)
  • Native app (most expensive)
    • Use device hardware (usually better performance)
    • Offline
  • Progressive Web App (PWA)
• Platform constraints
  • Graphics
  • File size
• Features needed to be considered
  • Hardware
  • Connectivity
  • Displays
  • Interface

Useful Resources

• W3School
• Mozilla Development Network (MDN)
• Google Web Dev

Build Own Websites

• Wix Free Website Builder
• Shopify Site Builder
• WordPress
• Hugo