The eLearning Center for Gatlin Education Services

Develop a basic understanding of the visual design, technical, and business skills required to get an ecommerce site up and running. Students explore the technical and structural parameters for designing an ecommerce site, learning time-tested approaches to usability and visual design. For students interested in developing their own Web business, the class also discusses essential aspects of any ecommerce venture: hosting, order processing, fulfillment, customer service, and outsourcing options.

LESSON 1 Defining the Project So you want to build an e-commerce site—what's your plan? In e-commerce development, planning can spell the difference between a total success and a train wreck. Lesson One explores the essentials that every e-commerce developer needs to consider at the get-go. Topics discussed include business planning, site audience research, technology and hosting options, budgeting, and staffing up for team-based development. In the first exercise you'll create a statement of intent and plan for a sample site or any site that you're planning to build.

LESSON 2 Organizing Content E-commerce sites are built from certain fundamental components that every project must consider and address. Lesson Two explores the business and content decisions you need to make throughout your site. The home page is of course key to defining your business, welcoming your visitors, and driving them smoothly toward a purchase. But you'll also learn the strategic issues for your site's about page, contact page, product pages , and more , with attention to important visual design concerns . In the exercise, you'll demonstrate mastery of these essentials by creating banner graphics for your site, adding written copy for four main pages, and deciding on the placement of text and visual content.

LESSON 3 Designing for E-Commerce Now that you've addressed key content and business decisions, you're ready to hone your site's architecture and continue working on the visual design. Lesson Three addresses the usability factors that make e-commerce happen. Streamlining your site architecture prevents confusion and promotes easy browsing. Visual design and color choices must support clear navigation and instill customer confidence. Deft use of typography, product images, and copywriting must create the environment for an informed purchase. In the exercise, you'll put these principles into practice by refining the design of your online storefront and creating effective layout and navigation schemes.

LESSON 4 Shopping Cart Logic There's more to life than shopping, but not much. Lesson Four explores the many options for setting up a shopping cart at your e-commerce site. You'll look at free and open source tools, commercial out-of-the-box products, hosted solutions, and purchasing vendors. In the exercise, you'll set up a working shopping cart (from a free, online service) for other students to browse with all required code, functionality, buttons, and purchasing options.

LESSON 5 Merchant Accounts Choosing a merchant account for your site can be a thorny business, but essential for handling online transactions. Lesson Five looks at how to select a merchant account. You'll learn about the pros and cons of traditional versus online merchant accounts, and where to find them. You'll explore alternative accounts including PayPal and check and cash services. In the exercise, you'll identify an account that makes sense for your e-commerce business.

LESSON 6 Fulfillment and Customer Service Your site's done, now what? Lesson Six looks at the issues of order fulfillment and customer service that are critical to any e-commerce site's long-term success. You'll learn how to provide timely order fulfillment, and what customer service policies and processes to put in place before your site goes live. You'll wrap up with a look at some of the marketing and strategic planning issues to consider so that your site continues to thrive and grow. In the final project (what else?) you'll determine a fulfillment strategy, prepare customer service communications, and add the finishing touches to your fully functional e-commerce site.