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Technologies of e-Commerce 3 Unit 8 – e-Commerce LO1 : Know the technologies required for e-commerce

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Database Systems E-commerce websites usually have a database backend storing the catalogue of products, customer records and other business information. This database should link to the website seamlessly so that the user is unaware of it. Some organisations outsource the creation of their website, but retain control of the content of the database. This means that if any changes need to be made, such as price changes, only the database needs amending and the organisation can do this themselves. Applications such as Oracle®, or languages such as MySQL™, can be used to create the database.

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Networking This refers to the methods used to connect computers together to create the network. It looks at how individual computers are identified so data can be sent to the correct place, the methods of data transfer across such a massive network and the naming of websites. HTML - stands for hypertext mark- up language. All web pages are controlled and structured using HTML, even 1f they use other languages as well. Wysiwyg - stands for 'what you see is what you get'. In web design programs, it means what you see in design view is the same as if it was published on the internet. MySQL™ - a language for creating online databases . it uses an SOL base, which is the language behind most databases .

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TCP/IP TCP/IP is a protocol that is used when transferring data across a network. If computers do not use the same protocol, it becomes impossible for them to understand the data transmitted between them. This is similar to humans who speak different languages- unless they agree to speak a common language, they will not be able to understand each other. To make sure the data reaches the right location on a network, each computer is given a unique number, called an IP address. it is a set of four numbers, each from 0 to 255. For example, would address a specific computer on a network. The Internet is a large global network and works in the same way as a WAN (wide area network).

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Ports connect protocols and IP addresses together. Each computer has several ports for data to pass through- they are virtual so they cannot be seen. Ports are like doors- each has a number to identify it and it can be open or closed. There are some default ports, for example port 25 is usually for and port 80 is usually for the Internet, although these can be changed. For a web server, it is good practice to close all ports that are not being used otherwise hackers can take advantage of open ports to get into the system.

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Domain Names Every website has an IP address, relating to the server which hosts it. For example, if you were to type into the address bar of a browser, the page for should appear. Smaller sites will always use the same IP address. However, large sites like Google have several, because they have many web servers. Businesses would struggle to entice many customers to their e-commerce sites if the customers had to remember the IP address, so domain names were invented. Each IP address resolves to a domain name e.g resolves to google.com. A domain name is only the core part of the name (google) and the extension (.com).

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HTTP and www are protocols which tell the computer that the data is a web page. This makes sure that the computer interprets the data in the right way. There are several extensions available

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Each website can be contacted by its universal resource locator (URL). For example, if is entered into the address bar in a browser, Google's website should open at its home page. A URL is any website address, for example would also be a URL. However, the domain name is still just google.com. To make sure they maximise traffic to their sites, businesses usually not only buy the URL they want to use as the main address (for example but also other extensions, for example and and alternative spellings, for example and ww.google.com.

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Programming Requirements Web pages are usually written in HTML, or a form of HTML such as XHTML. Within the HTML code, other languages can be used, including PHP, ASP , JavaScript and others which add functionality. HTML itself does not provide e-commerce capabilities, so another language must always be used as well. PHP- stands for hypertext pre-processor. it allows web pages to connect with databases and on line payment systems. ASP- stands for active server pages. it also allows web pages to connect with databases and on line payment systems. JavaScript - in basic terms, provides interactivity between the computer and the user.

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HTML uses a system of tags (indicated by angle brackets: <and>) which contain the instructions. Almost all tags use a pair of open and close tags enclosing the content to be affected. For example: <font color='red'>Some text</font> would produce: Some text. Note that American spelling is used in HTML. HTML pages should start and end with <html> </ html> tags to declare the language being used. Each page is divided into a head and body section, each defined by their tags. The head section is unseen by the user and can be thought of as the brains of the page. It contains all the information for the page to function correctly. The body is the part seen by the user and contains all the content of the page. A well designed page should have re-usable code in the head and minimal code in the body.

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Download Speeds A variety of download speeds are available and a business should never assume that all customers will have the same connection available. Internet connection speed is measured in kilobits per second (Kbps) or megabits per second (Mbps). A kilobit is 1000 bits. This is different from the binary measurement of a kilobyte which is 1024 bits. A megabit is 1,000,000 bits. There are several ways of minimising the download times of a website. Images are essential to create interest on a web page, but down loading images takes much more time than down loading text. Using smaller image files can be a way of minimising download times. To do this, images should be compressed and conform to the web safe palette. Use the ALT function so that while the image is down loading the user knows what to expect. Text only options need also to work without the images, so great care is needed in designing pages.

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Animation can bring a web page to life and demonstrate a product which might help the visitor decide to buy, but it uses up a lot of bandwidth (data transmission rates), so it should be used sparingly. Tables of information might be the best way to summarise information. However, these also take longer to down load, so it makes sense not to include very large tables.

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Browser and Platform Compatibility There are several web browsers available and each renders graphics on a website differently. This is to do with the way the browser interprets the code and must be taken into consideration when designing a website. In addition, the different computer platforms that users might have should be considered: not just the latest platforms, but also older ones that are still being used, such as earlier versions of Internet Explorer® and Netscape Navigator®. Web developers should design to meet the lowest specifications available, otherwise potential customers may be excluded from purchasing products and so the business will lose potential profit.