E-COMMERCE WEB TECHNOLOGIES

In Chapter 8 you learned about technologies and programming languages developers use to create e-commerce Web sites. You know that Web developers must create Web pages using XHTML, XML, client-side and server-side scripting languages, and other tools, such as graphic design applications. We provide references to many tools and resources on this Web site in Life-Learning Module A, "Enhanced Web Development."

E-commerce developers also must know these programming skills. However, e-commerce developers also must understand how to market and sell their Web sites using e-commerce technologies. They must know how to effectively register their Web sites with search engines, such as Google. They should be able to advertise with banner ads and pop up ads. Remember banner ads are a graphical advertisement and pop up ads are small Web pages containing an advertisement that appears on your computer outside the current Web site loaded in your browser. Finally, e-commerce developers must decide if they want to use an affiliate program to sell goods and services via another Web site.

If e-commerce developers want to allow customers to pay them (and they do), they must know how to make it easy and secure for people to pay them for goods and services. More than likely, they'll use a financial cybermediary to process payments. A financial cybermediary is a Web-based company that allows one person to pay another person. E-commerce developers must make sure that all transactions are secure as well. They use a Secure Sockets Layer and encryption to protect personal and financial data. Encryption scrambles data so it cannot be read without the right decryption key. They might also use a Secure Electronic Transaction (SET) which is a method to ensure transmissions are legitimate as well as secure.

Finally, e-commerce developers must understand how to use m-commerce. Remember, m-commerce, or mobile e-commerce allows you to use wireless devices such as smart phones or PDAs to buy and sell products through Web e-commerce.

We've provided links below to help you learn more about these e-commerce Web technologies that developers use to create effective, usable, and profitable e-commerce Web sites.

Search Engine Submissions

• AddMe
• Lycos' Search Engine Submission
• Microsoft's bCentral Submit-It
• Overture's Site Match
• Search Engine Submission Tips

Banner Ads and Pop Up Ads

• About.com's Pop Up Blocker Resource Page
• Ad Server Solutions
• Banner Ad Design
• Effectiveness of Pop Up Ads
• HTML Goodies: How to Make a Banner Ad
• Pop Up Rotator

Affiliate Programs

• Affiliate Programs Guide
• Amazon.com Associates
• Associate Programs Forum
• Dark Blue Affiliate Network

Financial Cybermediaries

• American Express
• Charge.com Credit Card Service
• MasterCard
• PayPal
• Visa

Secure Sockets Layer (SSL)

• Apache SSL
• Introduction to Secure Socket Layers (SSL)
• OpenSSL
• SSL.com
• Thawte
• Verisign

Secure Electronic Transaction (SET)

• ComputerWorld Article on SET
• Dmoz's SET Page
• Mobile Electronic Transactions
• SET Security
• WhatIs Definition of SET

M-Commerce

• Business.com's Mobile Resource Page
• Dmoz's Mobile Commerce Page
• Mobile Commerce Times
• Mobile CommerceNet
• Nokia's Mobile Commerce