eCommerce PlatformsHajrë Hyseni & Richard Balawender

University of Hertfordshire

Oct 2011

11Tuesday, 18 October 11

Today

Shopify features & setup

Review (Magento & Shopify)

Why using eCommerce CMS platforms

Homework A,B & C

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Easy to use

No programming code required

It supports all types of payment gateways

Fast and reliable for customers

Low costs

Safe and secure

Quick setup

It helps you to learn while growing the business

Why eCommerce CMS?

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Marketing Tools

Search Engine Optimisation

Analytics & Reporting

Site Management/APIs

Catalog Management/Browsing

Product BrowsingMobile eCommerce

Checkout/Payment/Tracking

Good for bigger eCommerce sites

Large community

Why Magento

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• Set up an account and build a simple store

• Change the look and feel using free/paid templates• Upload design images• Create stock, set descriptions, weights and product images

• Add information pages and a blog if desired• Accepts PayPal and other multiple payment partners

• Set preferences for postage, taxes• Customise the layout of your store using CSS

Why Shopify

5Good for smaller eCommerce sites

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• Consider how well your site has been optimised for search

engines

• Setup a domain and point it at the store

• Install Google Analytics and other tracking software

• Engage in marketing activities including Google Adwords

• Launch your store

• Explore the customer service involved in running a store

• Find online resources to help customise and market the store

• Find other services that can be mashed up within your store

Things to consider

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1. Choose 10 things to sell that fall into 2-3 product categories

2.Write a short description and title for each item

3.Take a photograph of each item

4.Decide on pricing, weights and shipping costs for each item

5.Decide on a name for your store

6.Set up your Shopify account

7.Set up a Google account specifically for this project

Planning your store

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• Shopify costs £15 pm if you launch a proper store• A domain name will cost £2 - £5 and is worth having

anyway• A Google Adwords account will cost a £5 - 10 minimum• A PayPal account will not cost anything but both Shopify

and *PayPal will take part of your sales 10 items to sell could cost £10

• For around £40, therefore, you will be able to launch a real store. This is better value than a textbook of the same cost

Cost

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Project Interview

Ask yourself/friend 20 questions to complete the specification process for setting up an ecommerce project

Add the Project Interview completed template into your Research File

Homework A

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Design and build a store and launch it based on your Project Interview requests even if you don’t intend to run it properly. On your own time spend at least 4-6 hours on this activity. You may work with someone else (no groups) but provide individual answers.

Here is the link to allow you to sign up for Shopify 30 day trial:

https://app.shopify.com/services/signup/new/basic

Homework B

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Add answers of the following questions to your Research File:

1. Take a screenshot of your store's home page with at least 4 products

2. List at least 3 things that you like about Shopify

3. Describe any problems you had with using Shopify and explain how you overcame them.

4. Describe at least two limitations you can see with Shopify for a major commerce site (without extending it using the API). Make sure that they are genuine limitations.

5. Describe at least 2 possible reasons why large companies might not use this sort of service for their ecommerce activities

Homework C

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Magento http://www.magentocommerce.com/product/features

Shopify http://www.shopify.com/tour

http://boagworld.com/reviews/why-magento-is-worth-it-for-some/

http://www.zippycart.com/shopping-cart-ratings/shopify-review.html

eBook: http://goo.gl/S5sfv

http://www.osbr.ca/ojs/index.php/osbr/article/viewArticle/1151

Suggested reading

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Thank you!

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