Copyright 2009 Pearson Education, Inc.Slide 4-*E-commerce Kenneth C. LaudonCarol Guercio Traver

business. technology. society.Fifth Edition

Copyright 2009 Pearson Education, Inc.

Copyright 2009 Pearson Education, Inc.Slide 4-*Chapter 4Building an E-commerce Web Site

Copyright 2009 Pearson Education, Inc.

Right-Sizing a Web Site Class DiscussionWhat are the factors you should take into account when sizing a Web sites infrastructure?Why is peak usage an important factor to consider?What did eBay discover from its use of OPERA?How can operators of smaller sites deal with the right-sizing issue?Slide 4-*

Building an E-commerce Site: A Systematic ApproachMost important management challenges in building a successful e-commerce site are:Developing a clear understanding of business objectivesKnowing how to choose the right technology to achieve those objectivesSlide 4-*

Pieces of the Site-Building PuzzleMain areas where you will need to make decisions in building a site include:Human resources and organizational capabilitiescreating a team that has the skill set to build and manage a successful siteHardwareSoftwareTelecommunicationsSite designSlide 4-*

The Systems Development Life CycleMethodology for understanding business objectives of a system and designing an appropriate solutionFive major steps in SDLCSystems analysis/planningSystems designBuilding the systemTestingImplementationSlide 4-*

Web Site Systems Development Life CycleFigure 4.2, Page 203Slide 4-*

System Analysis/Planning: Identifying Business Objectives, System Functionality, and Information RequirementsBusiness objectives: List of capabilities you want your site to haveSystem functionalities: List of information system capabilities needed to achieve business objectivesInformation requirements: Information elements that system must produce in order to achieve business objectivesSlide 4-*

Business Objectives, System Functionality, and Information Requirements for a Typical E-commerce SiteTable 4.1, Page 204Slide 4-*

Systems Design: Hardware and Software PlatformsSystem design specification: Description of main components of a system and their relationship to one another Two components of system design:Logical designData flow diagrams, processing functions, databasesPhysical designSpecifies actual physical, software components, models, etc.Slide 4-*

Logical Design for a Simple Web SiteFigure 4.3 (a), Page 206Slide 4-*

Physical Design for a Simple Web SiteFigure 4.3 (b), Page 206Slide 4-*

Building the System: In-House versus OutsourcingOutsourcing: Hiring vendors to provide services involved in building site Build own vs. outsourcing:Build your own requires team with diverse skill set; choice of software tools; both risks and possible benefitsHost own vs. outsourcingHosting: Hosting company responsible for ensuring site is accessible 24/7, for monthly feeCo-location: Firm purchases or leases Web server (with control over its operation), but server is located at vendors facility

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Choices in Building and HostingFigure 4.4, Page 207Slide 4-*

Insight on BusinessCurly Hair and Tattoos: Getting Started on the CheapClass DiscussionHow does a small, niche Web site become profitable? What is the primary source of income for these kinds of sites?What are Internet incubators and what is their relationship to the ventures they support?

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Testing, Implementation, and MaintenanceTestingUnit testingSystem testingAcceptance testingImplementation and maintenance: Maintenance is ongoingCosts of maintenance parallel to development costs Benchmarking: Comparing site to competitors in terms of response speed, quality of layout, and designSlide 4-*

Factors in Web Site OptimizationFigure 4.7, Page 213Slide 4-*

Simple versus Multi-tiered Web Site ArchitectureSystem architecture: Arrangement of software, machinery, and tasks in an information system needed to achieve a specific functionalityTwo-tier architectureWeb server and database serverMulti-tier architectureWeb application serversBackend, legacy databases

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Two-Tier E-commerce ArchitectureFigure 4.9(a), Page 216Slide 4-*

Multi-tier E-commerce ArchitectureFigure 4.9(b), Page 216Slide 4-*

Web Server SoftwareAll e-commerce sites require basic Web server software to answer HTTP requests from customersApacheLeading Web server software (50% of market)Works only with UNIX, Linux OSsMicrosofts Internet Information Server (IIS)Second major Web server software (35% of market)Windows-based

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Basic Functionality Provided by Web ServersTable 4.3, Page 218Slide 4-*

Site Management ToolsBasic site management toolsIncluded in all Web serversVerify that links on pages are still valid Identify orphan filesThird-party software and services for advanced site managementMonitor customer purchases, marketing campaign effectiveness, etc.e.g. WebTrendsSlide 4-*

Dynamic Page Generation ToolsDynamic page generation: Contents of Web page stored as objects in database and fetched when neededCommon tools:CGI (Common Gateway Interface) ASP (Active Server Pages)JSP (Java Server Pages)AdvantagesLowers menu costsPermits easy online market segmentationEnables cost-free price discriminationEnables Web content management system (WCMS)Slide 4-*

Application ServersWeb application servers: Provide specific business functionality required for a Web siteMiddlewareIsolate business applications from Web servers and databasesSingle-function applications increasingly being replaced by integrated software tools that combine all functionality needed for e-commerce site

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Application Servers and Their FunctionsTable 4.4, Page 222Slide 4-*

E-commerce Merchant Server SoftwareProvides the basic functionality for online salesOnline catalogShopping cartCredit card processingMerchant server software packages: Offer integrated environmentE-commerce merchant servicese.g. Yahoos Small Business Merchant SolutionsOpen source Web building tools:e.g. Apache Web server, MySQL, PHP, PERL

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Choosing the Hardware for an E-commerce SiteHardware platform: Underlying computing equipment that system uses to achieve e-commerce functionalityObjective:Have enough platform capacity to meet peak demand but not so much that you waste moneyImportant to understand the different factors that affect speed, capacity, and scalability of a siteSlide 4-*

Right-Sizing Your Hardware Platform: The Demand SideDemand that customers put on site the most important factor affecting the speed of siteFactors involved in overall demand:Number of simultaneous users in peak periodsNature of customer requests (user profile)Type of content (dynamic versus static Web pages)Required securityNumber of items in inventoryNumber of page requestsSpeed of legacy applicationsSlide 4-*

Factors in Right-sizing an E-commerce PlatformTable 4.7, Page 227Slide 4-*

Degradation in Performance as Number of Users IncreasesFigure 4.12 (a), Page 229Slide 4-*

Slide 4-*Figure 4.12 (b), Page 229Degradation in Performance as Number of Users Increases

The Relationship of Bandwidth to HitsFigure 4.14, Page 231Slide 4-*SOURCE: IBM, 2003.

Right-Sizing Your Hardware Platform: The Supply SideScalability: Ability of site to increase in size as demand warrantsWays to scale hardware:VerticallyIncrease processing power of individual componentsHorizontallyEmploy multiple computers to share workloadImprove processing architectureSlide 4-*

Vertical and Horizontal Scaling TechniquesTable 4.8, Page 231Slide 4-*

Vertically Scaling a SystemFigure 4.15, Page 232Slide 4-*

Horizontally Scaling a SystemFigure 4.16, Page 233Slide 4-*

Improving the Processing Architecture of Your SiteTable 4.9, Page 234Slide 4-*

Web Site Design: Basic Business ConsiderationsNeed design guidelines and software tools that can cost-effectively achieve required business functionalitye.g. enabling customers to find what they need, make purchase, leave75% users say they would not revisit a Web site that they found annoying to useSlide 4-*

E-commerce Web Site Features that Annoy CustomersFigure 4.17, Page 235Slide 4-*SOURCE: Based on data from Hostway Corporations survey, Consumers Pet Peeves about Commercial Web Sites, Hostway Corporation, 2007.

The Eight Most Important Factors in Successful E-commerce Site DesignTable 4.10, Page 236Slide 4-*

Tools for Web Site OptimizationOptimization: How to attract a large audience to Web siteSearch engine rankingsKeywords and page titlesIdentify market nichesOffer expertiseLink to and from other sitesBuy adsLocal e-commerce

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Tools for Interactivity and Active ContentWidgets: Small pre-built chunk of code that executes automatically in an HTML Web pageMashups: Pull functionality/data from one program and include it in anotherCGI (Common Gateway Interface): Standards for communication between browser and program running on a server that allows for interaction between the user and the server

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Tools for Interactivity and Active Content (contd)ASP (Active Server Pages): Used to build dynamic pages with Microsofts IIS Java: Used to create interactivity and active content on client computerJSP (Java Server Pages): Similar to CGI and ASP; allows developers to use HTML, JSP scripts, and Java to dynamically generate Web pages

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*Copyright 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Prentice Hall

Tools for Interactivity and Active Content (contd)JavaScript: Used to control objects on a Web page and handle interactions with browserActiveX: Invented by Microsoft to compete with JavaVBScript: Invented by Microsoft to compete with JavaScriptColdFusion: Integrated server-side environment for developing interactive Web applicationsSlide 4-*

Insight on TechnologyPumping Up the Customer Experience Using AJAX and FlashClass DiscussionWhat is AJAX? How does it work?Compare AJAX to the traditional client/server Web model.How does Google Maps use AJAX?What are some alternative ways to achieve the same results as AJAX?

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Personalization ToolsPersonalization: Ability to treat people based on their personal qualities and prior history with your siteCustomization: Ability to change the product to better fit the needs of the customerCookies:Primary method for achieving personalization and customization Slide 4-*

The Information Policy SetPrivacy policySet of public statements declaring how site will treat customers personal information that is gathered by siteAccessibility rulesSet of design objectives that ensure disabled users can affectively access siteSlide 4-*

Insight on SocietyDesigning for Accessibility with Web 2.0Class DiscussionWhat is Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act?Why are merchants reluctant to make their Web sites accessible to disabled Americans?How can Web sites be made more accessible?Should all Web sites be required by law to provide equivalent alternatives for visual and sound content?

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All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the publisher. Printed in the United States of America.Copyright 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Prentice Hall

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