Transcript WHAT ARE THE THREE "CORE/KEY SKILLS"?

COMP3241
E-Commerce Technologies
Richard Henson
University of Worcester
October 2012
Week 4: B2C E-commerce
websites with Shopping Cart

Objectives:
 describe the components of a typical B2C on-line
trading system
 describe the stages required to capture an order
on-line and send it to be stored by a webserver
 describe the stages required in producing an
online invoice and receiving payment on-line
 apply a knowledge of the above to design a
“shopping basket” on-line payment system
Systems for On-line Ordering

B2C e-commerce COULD be achieved via
the www in a number of ways:
 via email
 using a HTML Form that sends “semi-structured”
data to an email address
 using a more sophisticated HTML forms system (a
shopping cart)
Order via e-mail

Two possibilities:
 using email address given on home page
 using a HTML mailto command on the home
page:
» <a href=“[email protected]”>send mail</a>
» allows the email message header to be generated
automatically

In either case…
 a manual system requiring the vendor to physically read the
message and send a reply...
Processes required for ordering
via e-mail…

Customer:
 initiates communication using email address on
web site
 types out/sends an unstructured message
requesting product(s) displayed on website

Vendor:
 replies with an emailed order
» may have be inputted by hand
 requests some means of payment before
proceeding…
» issues with security of personal data for unencrypted
email…
» may have to be sent by post… (digital -> analogue…)
Order via HTML form

Customer:
 accesses product page(s)
 sees product list as a form on the web page
 inputs number for each product required and
submit the completed form to the vendor’s email
address

Assumes form is appropriately structured
 information can then be processed automatically
by software at the server end
Ordering via Shopping Cart

Fully programmed system
 programming behind the web pages does all the
processing
 ordering products designed to be easy as possible
for the customer

EU E-commerce Regulations (2002)
 customer should see exactly what they are ordering
 shopping cart logic should total up the exact amount
the customer will have to pay (no hidden extras…)

The system should incorporate a means of
securely storing customer personal data
E-commerce
via Shopping Cart System

 advertising & promoting the
company’s products
 providing a secure and robust
system for encouraging people
to buy those products online
Front end

Back end
Two main functions:
Each function is a subsystem
in its own right
» Presentation: FRONT END
» Behind the scenes scripts &
database work: BACK END
Shopping System
Front End

Online equivalent of a high street shop
 browsing through the product pages…
equivalent of walking round the shop

Objectives of shopping pages:
 products presented as positively as possible to
encourage customers to want to buy…
» achieved through creative web page design
 Allow (encourage?) customers to purchase
» “buy” button in (several?) appropriate places
Shopping System
“Back End”

The boring bit ?!
 “transparent to the user”
 should all work perfectly, and never really be noticed…
 will be noticed if it breaks down!

Back-end components:
 relational database holding product, transaction, and
possibly customer data
 server scripts to manipulate that data, including…
» connectivity string(s) to enable scripts to interact with
database
» SQL statements to query fields and tables
Linking Front-End
and Back-End

Accepted practice…
whatever delivers fastest response times for
the customer!

Achieved by…
cart data held locally until customer commits
to transaction
cart display gives customer immediate
feedback on what other products already
chosen
Functions of Shopping Cart
software
Collects the order using information
gathered by mouse clicks on shopping
pages
 Stores & processes the order data
 Prepares an invoice
 Displays invoice for customer,
requesting some means of payment

Achievement of these
Functions
Cart software downloaded from server
 Runs on the browser (client-side)…

» no interaction needed with server during
product browsing

Links with the vendor’s web server
(server-side)
» each time new data is required for display
» to store transaction data
Payment & Fulfillment
in B2C e-commerce

“post-ordering”
 web pages again… combined with email
 must look right, to maintain the customer’s
confidence in the company as an online vendor

Consist of...
 secure payment pages, that connect to a clearly
identified (logo?) merchant services provider
 corporate “thank you” page
 system to email customer with information
concerning the acceptance and progress of order
Putting it all Together…

Series of components working with front end
 cart itself
 cart-related scripts
 database storing product, customer & order details
 payment system software will be needed that will
interface with the International banking network
 fulfilment pages that will advise the customer of the
progress of their order, and encourage them to
return to the website in future
Shopping Cart Implementation
– not best practice

Shop@ssistant approach
everything happens fast, but happens clientend
not secure, and not even realistic unless only
tiny amounts of data involved

“All on the server” approach
lot of server requests, lot of waiting for the
server; can ruin the shopping experience!
Successful Shopping Cart
Systems

Most commonly used (and most successful)
for B2C e-commerce e.g. amazon.com:
 web page displays live data from organisational
web server
 customer selects product(s) and qty from on-line
form
 costs, including VAT and any extras automatically
included on on-line invoice
 customer can choose to buy (or not!) directly by
simply clicking a screen button
 system requests means of payment before
continuing…
Implementations of
Shopping Cart principles

A lot of time can be saved by using an Ecommerce RAD toolkit. Various options
available:
 menu driven solutions e.g. Actinic Catalogue
 modify code already provided e.g. Shop assistant
 components provided free to use via Internet – use
a tool such as Dreamweaver or VWD to assemble
them e.g.
» Ultracart
» WebXel… others?
Shop@ssistant
(e.g. shopping pages)

Show all good features of engagement with a
shopping cart:
 automatically displays “shopping basket” whenever forms
data is added
 captures customer data
 handles tax and shipping
 links with payment system

Payment system links built-in
 outsources authentication and card transactions
 hence, security of financial data can be handled by a
trusted third party
Shop@ssistant System
Architecture (if interested…)

Very confusing because it uses several instances of index.html
 root folder file boots the main system file, in the system folder
 causes the system to be loaded
» a web page informs that “Shop@ssistant system is being loaded…”
 finally, the home page is loaded from the pages folder

Product Data
 saved within product pages as javascript arrays

Shopping Cart Data
 set up on local hard disk as a cookie
» NOT a session cookie
» data remains after user has logged out, and system has been switched
off!
 cookie values put there by customer clicking on a pay button

Cart itself created by calling a JavaScript routine, and cookie
values are placed into a HTML table
 other features are also JavaScript routines
Shop@ssistant “Bookshop” –
e.g. of shopping page design

Very simple design...
 enables ordering of a book in at least two ways
» text or image

Easy navigation:

forward (buttons at the bottom of the page)
back (hyperlinks at top and bottom)
Buttons at the bottom of the page:
 Order this Book
 3 Copies for 2 Offer
 Review Basket
Bookshop Site design
continued..


Clicking on either the image of the book or the
order button displays the all important Basket
Review Page
Features to note:
 heading - reflect corporate image, etc.
 buttons at top of page - good navigation
 option to go to payment page - cashier
 form for on-line invoice & “remove item” check box
 contains hyperlink to details of the book
 bullet pointed help
Bookshop Site – Preparing an
On Screen Invoice

Customer Details Page…
 created when customer commits to a purchase
 customer has to appropriately complete name,
address, email address fields (all are validated)

“Next” button provides the invoice page:
 if customer details are not in the right format…
» customer Details page will be called again

Features of on screen invoice page:
 includes shipping and VAT charges
 to go further, customer must choose from options
a payment method...
Handling Payment

Needs a secure Payment page, involving
interaction with transaction services…
 default Shop@ssistant set up therefore does not
include on-line credit card transactions
» assignment 2 can leave this aspect similarly blank
» however, you need to investigate the theory of payment
via Internet for assignment 1…

After payment, fulfilment…
 thank you page
 then a goodbye page…
 and (preferably) an email confirmation of order...
» independent of whether payment has been accepted
Security and
E-commerce Data


Early systems often too relaxed
Security initially focused on financial
transaction
 system needed to be designed so financial data
cannot be tapped into en route or on either client
or server computer
 quite a challenge… often passed to 3rd party
provider
» e.g. PayPal
 but financial data also needs to be secured “en
route…”
Security and
E-commerce Data (2)

E-commerce systems also require customers
to supply personal data
 slow to recognize potential for infringement of EU
data protection legislation
» not necessary in US in late 1990s… and early E-commerce
expertise came from US

Customer data is personal
 should also be secured “in transit”

More recently acknowledged to be a problem…
» many systems still on “catch up” as regards shopping cart
design…
Policing of
E-commerce Security

Two “controllers”…
 UK & EU Laws
» sadly inadequate…
» But govt little appetite for change
 Credit card company regulations
» PCI-DSS (Data Security Standard)
https://www.pcisecuritystandards.org/security_standards
» gradually becoming more severe
» company could lose the facility to take credit card
payments (!)
Challenges with
“Assembling” a Cart

If it can go wrong, sooner or later… it
will!
dealing with programming code can be a
dangerous business!
like security.. sadly neglected
New UK govt initiative:
» http://ssdri-web.s3-website-eu-west1.amazonaws.com/index.html
Making Reliable
E-commerce software

Usual problems associated with using code to
develop something new
 importance of testing! (and retesting…)

Regard apparent syntax errors as a
challenge, not a problem!
 Troubleshoot! Is it syntax or a system problem?
» could be that the user interacting with the database
doesn’t have sufficient user rights

right-click on local folder & check the security tag
» could be that the database isn’t in the right place or has
moved since the connection was last made
What makes a successful
on-line B2C E-commerce site?

One that attracts customers
 And retains customers…

Principles of good design well established
 web pages appropriately designed
 shopping system user-friendly & works efficiently

Successful e-commerce websites save the
vendor an awful lot of money!
 problem: high initial cost
 gain: potentially huge ROI
Business Benefits of B2C

Can generate more sales…
increase revenue

BUT how can B2C e-commerce cut
costs?
data input is done by the customer
» help from the shopping pages and shopping
cart
data output is presented directly on the
screen
cuts greatly on administration…
B2C E-commerce: Keeping
the customer satisfied…

All transaction data has to be presented
digitally on-screen…
 order forms (no opening envelopes and processing
an order from paper)
 invoices (no need to print them, put them into
envelopes, or send them off by post)


Huge potential cost saving, but the screen
interface must be designed FOR THE
CUSTOMER!!!
If the customer is not comfortable with it, they
may not buy… and may not return
Internet Marketing

Huge growth area…
 Whole conferences devoted to e.g. “Technologies
for Marketing”

In the early days of e-commerce, the rate of
hits on website WAS the value of the
company (!)
 now revised downwards, but same principle
applies…
» formula based on (say) every tenth visitor will be a
customer…

Best ways to attract visitors:
 use search engines effectively
 advertise URL effectively using a diverse range of
media
Promoting the Website

The business will not get any benefits
from increase in sales if there are no
visitors
however excellent the site may be…
MANY ways to maximise the number of
visitors to a site…
 Suggestions? Group Activity…

Technologies for
Improving Hit Rate

Many applications available
 Some very simple
»
»
»
»
counters
meta name generators
date/time/special effects, etc. (client end)
links to code located on other sides (e.g weather
forecast)
 Others more sophisticated: two categories:
» watch/record visitor behaviour

Example: ASP Sheriff
» provide more features for the site

Any number of possibilities
Effective Use of Search Engines

Objective: to use appropriate
techniques to cause the search engine
display your site in its “top ten”
Search Engine “spiders”
» crawl round the net looking out for keywords in
web pages
» retrieve keywords and corresponding URLs
» take keywords back to the search engine
database
» Program automatically adds the lists of
keywords to the database

right keywords MUST be presented to the spiders
Effective Use of
Search Engines (2)



Objective: keeping the site in the top ten
Search engines like Google monitor websites:
Longer-term ranking also based on:
 hit rate
 number, and activity, of external links on site

Technologies available to help boost rankings
 Whole new discipline of e-marketing…