Creating a usable e-commerce application is a daunting challenge. There is so much to do, from the initial concept, through to designing and coding the application. This leaves a lot of scope for things to go wrong. This book takes all the hassle out of online shopping applications, by showing you how to plan your application, design the user interface and data store, and code the entire thing. Full code is provided for two complete shopping cart applications, customizable for your own needs.

Introduction

1

(4)

Support and Feedback

2

(3)

Chapter 1: E-Commerce and Shopping Carts

5

(20)

Planning Your Product

6

(1)

Effective Shopping Sites

7

(4)

Amazon.com

7

(1)

eBay.com

8

(1)

cafepress.com

9

(1)

Small, Medium, and Large Systems

10

(1)

Third-Party Solutions versus "Rolling Your Own"

11

(3)

Using an Existing Package

11

(1)

Developing Your Own Solution

12

(2)

Usable Features

14

(1)

Interface Customization

15

(1)

Flexibility

15

(1)

Good User Interface Design

16

(1)

Technology Choices

16

(3)

Data Storage Mediums

17

(1)

Relational Databases

18

(1)

Developing Our Application

19

(3)

Product Catalog/Database

19

(1)

Information Displays

20

(1)

The Cart Component

20

(1)

The Checkout Process

21

(1)

Ensuring Security

22

(1)

What's Ahead

22

(1)

Summary

23

(2)

Chapter 2: Information Architecture For Shopping Systems

25

(20)

Overview

25

(1)

User Data

26

(2)

Conceptual Modeling

28

(2)

Personas, Scenarios, and Task Flows

30

(1)

Personas

30

(1)

Scenarios

30

(1)

Task Flows

31

(1)

Labeling Systems

31

(3)

Designing a Labeling System

32

(1)

Card Sorting

33

(1)

Paper Prototyping

34

(3)

Rapid Prototyping

36

(1)

Idea Brainstorming

37

(1)

Mapping

37

(6)

Navigation Maps

37

(1)

Detail Maps

38

(2)

Perspective Maps

40

(2)

Numbering Systems

42

(1)

Guidelines for Mapping

42

(1)

The Final Word on Information Architecture

43

(2)

Chapter 3: User Interface and Interaction Design

45

(22)

Wireframing

45

(6)

Wireframes in UI

47

(4)

A New Wireframe Design - Page Description Diagrams

49

(2)

Wireframing Tools

51

(1)

UI Specifications

51

(2)

Creating UI Specs

51

(1)

Combining UI Specs with the Wireframe Stage

52

(1)

Double-Checking

53

(1)

Prototyping

53

(2)

Tuneln! Prototype

53

(1)

Making Prototypes

54

(1)

Visual Design

55

(9)

Elements of Good Shopping Applications

55

(8)

Product Catalog

55

(3)

Cart

58

(1)

Checkout

59

(2)

Security/Peace of Mind

61

(1)

Accessibility Issues

62

(1)

Creating the Tuneln! Visual Design

63

(1)

Chopping It Up

64

(1)

Summary

65

(2)

Chapter 4: DataStore

67

(38)

Naming Conventions

68

(1)

Organization

69

(24)

Formulating the Problem

70

(1)

Essential Data

71

(1)

Normalization versus Problem Relationships

72

(3)

Normal Forms

72

(1)

Problem Relationships

73

(2)

Database Design

75

(15)

Albums

76

(6)

Tickets

82

(2)

Orders

84

(6)

Database Table Creation

90

(3)

SQL Scripts

90

(3)

Population

93

(3)

SQL Server

93

(1)

MySQL

93

(3)

Connecting To the Database

96

(3)

ASP Connection

96

(1)

PHP Connections

97

(2)

Retrieval

99

(3)

A Few Words on Stored Procedures

99

(1)

SQL Server with ASP

99

(2)

MySQL with PHP

101

(1)

What's Next?

102

(1)

Summary

102

(3)

Chapter 5: Product Display

105

(70)

Presentation Basics

106

(66)

Wireframe

106

(1)

Info & Product Displays

107

(49)

Home Page

107

(12)

Music Page

119

(17)

Shows Page

136

(11)

News Page

147

(5)

Specials Page

152

(4)

Search Component

156

(16)

ASP/SQL Server

156

(3)

PHP/MySQL

159

(13)

What's Next - Saving State

172

(3)

Chapter 6: The Shopping Cart

175

(46)

Functional Requirements

176

(1)

Implementation Issues

177

(1)

Saving State and Cart Data Storage

178

(5)

ASP

180

(1)

PHP

180

(3)

Short-form Cart Display

183

(8)

ASP/SQL Server

183

(3)

PHP/MySQL

186

(5)

Adding Items

191

(8)

Adding Items - ASP/SQL Server

193

(2)

Adding Items - PHP/MySQL

195

(4)

Cart Detail Display

199

(13)

ASP/SQL Server

203

(3)

PHP/MySQL

206

(6)

Editing and Deleting Items

212

(5)

ASP/SQL Server

212

(2)

PHP/MySQL

214

(3)

(Other) Enhancements to the Cart

217

(1)

What's Ahead

218

(1)

Summary

218

(3)

Chapter 7: Checkout Time

221

(70)

Information Forms and Validation

225

(63)

Shipping Method

225

(17)

ASP/SQL Server

227

(5)

PHP/MySQL

232

(10)

Address and Contact Information

242

(13)

ASP/SQL Server

243

(5)

PHP/MySQL

248

(5)

A Generic Form Validation Method

253

(2)

Method of Payment

255

(6)

ASP/SQL Server

256

(2)

PHP/MySQL

258

(3)

Credit Card Validation and Verification

261

(30)

Credit Card Form Display

262

(16)

Validating Credit Card Numbers with the Luhn Formula

278

(10)

What's Ahead

288

(1)

Summary

289

(2)

Chapter 8: Staying Secure

291

(20)

Basic Site Security

291

(15)

Web Server Security

292

(1)

ASP Security Issues

293

(1)

Filesystem & Access Issues

293

(1)

ASPNBScript Versions

293

(1)

Windows OS

294

(1)

PHP Security Issues

294

(4)

Filesystem & Access Issues

294

(1)

PHP Versions

295

(1)

"Hiding" PHP

296

(1)

Why Is Using register_globals Bad for PHP Security'?

297

(1)

Database Security

298

(8)

SQL Server Security Issues

298

(1)

MySQL Security Issues

299

(1)

The MySQL Privilege System

300

(2)

MySQL and PHP Security

302

(4)

SSL - What Is It and Why Should I Use It?

306

(2)

Setting Up SSL

306

(2)

Setting Up SSL (Apache)

307

(1)

Setting Up SSL (IIS 5.0)

307

(1)

Final Note on SSL

308

(1)

Summary

308

(3)

Resources

311

(6)

Index

317

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The Used, Rental and eBook copies of this book are not guaranteed to include any supplemental materials. Typically, only the book itself is included. This is true even if the title states it includes any access cards, study guides, lab manuals, CDs, etc.