Chapter 3. Maintaining An E‐Commerce Site

In This Chapter

  • Coping with client‐side and server‐side technology issues

  • Working with customers

  • Optimizing and marketing the site

  • Upgrading your hosting service

After your client's squeaky‐clean e‐commerce site is uploaded to the server, your job is done. Well, . . . maybe. If your client is techno‐phobic, he'll rely on you for advice when the going gets rough. And like anything else technical, the going will get rough. Believe me.

In many instances, your job as a Web designer ends when you hand off the shiny new site to your client. Your client, however, might not be the most technologically savvy person on the planet. Therefore, you'll have to serve another role after the site has been uploaded to the Web hosting service, that of advisor. In this chapter, we show you what to recommend to your client when the going gets rough.

When Technology Breaks Down

The best‐laid plans go to waste, and the best‐engineered technology can and will break down at the most inconvenient time. Technology comes in two forms: client side and server side. The code on your HTML pages marries client‐side technology with server‐side technology. Your role as Web‐design guru means that you end up doing some handholding with your client when technology breaks down. The following sections deal with both client‐side technology problems and server‐side technology problems.

When client‐side technology runs amuck

An example of client‐side technology is code within your HTML pages ...

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