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| On-Line Storefronts :: an overview | |
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Storefronts webpeddle A free storefront with basic functions. PeddleGold A robust storefront with search and "buy now" buttons. MyStore A modular catalog storefront for custom applications. Recomendations Thinking of opening a store on the Internet?  |
On-Line Storefronts: The on-line storefront is the viewable portion of an e-commerce operation that is presented to the customer's browser over the Internet. It is a catalog or brochure of available products and information on thoes products with functionality for making product selections. All storefronts are comprised of at least two parts: a product list and a shopping cart. The product list may consist of a single page, a group of pages, or a dynamic list from which a customer makes selections. The cart, like its real world counterpart, is a temporary storage location for product selections. In addition, storefronts often include a search utility for the quick location of items and the cart provides selection totals and other computational functions. Some storefronts maintain product information in a server side database, requiring
special server and hosting software. ImagineNation storefronts use a "host anywhere"
approach with a built-in database structure. This allows the merchant
to use any ISP of their choosing, often at considerable cost savings. In
addition, our storefronts use managed sessions, insuring the integrity
of the customer's selections independent of the cookie setting in their
browser. You'll never lose a customer because they have cookies turned off. Our storefronts are hybrid applications of distributed and self hosted files. The merchant maintains their specific product and store configuration files at their own web site, under their control. The functional code to make it all work is supplied from the ImagineNation servers when a customer enters a merchant's store. Further reading There are distinct advantages to this approach: »» Information that is rightfully proprietary is kept by the merchant under their control. »» Upgrades to storefront and shopping cart functionality are immediate, requiring no action by the merchant. »» Server loading for both the merchant and ImagineNation is distributed, allowing rapid response even during peak times. »» Changes to the merchant's product list and store configuration files are done by the merchant at anytime without having to contact the company. »» Storefront code insures full compatibility with all ImagineNation back office utilities for order management and credit card processing. »» All payment processing takes place within the merchant's store. The customer never leaves your website. ImagineNation offers three different storefronts covering just about every
possible need.  |
