E-Commerce

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5 Ways to Increase Your E-Commerce Conversion Rate with Ayat Shukairy (8:59)
In this video interview, e-commerce conversion expert explains the five steps her firm uses to increase sales conversion rates in online stores -- determining which pages to optimize, changes that might produce best results, selecting pages to test, limiting tests to what is essential, and making only small changes at a time. Dec 29, 2009

How to Improve Your Product Pages. Part 2 - Bryan Eisenberg (7:15)
In part 2 of this video interview, Bryan Eisenberg offers a number of tips that can help you improve your e-commerce product pages. He makes suggestions in the areas of product page headlines and titles, product images, product options, product descriptions, and proofs to convince the shopper to buy now. Nov 10, 2009

All About Shopping Carts. Part 3. Payment Gateways
A payment gateway connects your shopping cart with the credit card processor. Here's what you need to know to select a payment gateway for your online store. Oct 13, 2009

How to Shop for a Merchant Credit Card Account
In this article, e-commerce expert Dr. Ralph Wilson explains the ins and outs of merchant cred card accounts. He defines all the confusing terms and explains each of the common fees that are assessed -- warning you about fees to watch out for. Finally, he outlines the advantages of a merchant account as well as steps to obtaining a merchant account for your business. Sep 15, 2009

All About Shopping Carts, Part 2. Basic Functions
In part 2 of a series on Shopping Carts, Dr. Wilson describes the basic functions common to all shopping carts. He describes the types of product options to consider what you might need. He also discusses what to look for in the "cart" or order display function, as well as shipping calculations, tax calculation, and e-mail confirmation. Sep 1, 2009

Sales Tax Collection Directions in the United States
Describes the sales tax implications of Quill v. North Dakota (1992). Then discusses two recent approaches that states have made to circumvent this ruling: (1) the Streamlined Sales Tax Project and (2) Extending the Definition of "Nexus" Sep 1, 2009

All About Shopping Carts, Part 1. Introduction
In this article, e-commerce expert Dr. Ralph Wilson begins a multi-part series on shopping carts. Here he examines the differences between ordering system carts and store-building carts, with a look at specialized requirements for B2B sales and membership sites. He includes links to examples of each type. He also discusses the pros and cons of hosted (SaaS) vs. licensed e-commerce software. Aug 18, 2009

PayPal - The E-Commerce Starter Kit, Part 3. The Downside
E-commerce expert Dr. Ralph Wilson explains the downsides of using PayPal Website Payments Standard as an online business's primary e-commerce tool. He addresses database-driven needs, lack of a content management system, an inflexible ordering interface, inadequate order management system, and claims of arbitrary policies. He recommends PayPal as one of your payment options. Aug 11, 2009

PayPal - The E-Commerce Starter Kit, Part 2. Order Management
In this article e-commerce expert Dr. Ralph Wilson continues his series on PayPal, with a look at order management features. He examines refunds, the Resolution Center, creating shipping labels and purchasing postage, customer contact files, and exporting the transaction file into Quicken or QuickBooks. Jul 28, 2009

PayPal - the E-commerce Starter Kit, Part 1. Order Buttons
In this first part of a 3-part series on using PayPal to take credit card payment for online sales, Dr. Wilson explains the basics of how PayPal works for a merchant, and then discusses details of business account and micropayments pricing, order button options, shipping and sales tax calculation features, and using PayPal to sell downloadable products. Jul 14, 2009