tips on building my first ecommerce site [closed]

Question

I've just taken on a client who needs a subscription based ecommerce site created using ProductCart software. I'm pretty handy with PHP so I should be able to figure out the software. My question is - what are some things i should be aware of when creating a subscription based ecommerce site? What types of questions should I be asking the client? I need to get more specifics from them regarding the different subscription levels and periods, but what other specifics should I get nailed down? I appreciate any help anyone can give.

thanks...

Answer 1

I would highly, highly, HIGHLY (can I make it any more clear) recommend reading and understanding almost everything on this question: What should a developer know before building a public web site?

It outlines all the big things you need to know about Security and Performance for Public Websites, a lot of which apply to e commerce sites. (When people's money is involved, it needs to work right).

Furthermore, you should make sure any certificates you should have are there, encryption, etc.

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For Client's Specific Needs:

Signing Up:

• Do they want to have promo codes to discount stuff?
• Is there a trial period?

Billing:

• When does billing occur? (Probably should be doled out throughout the month)
• Should there be an interface to change the billing date?

Leaving:

• How long does Customer Information stick around?
• How much access does a person have to the site when they unsubscribe
• Is there a day of grace period (Useful for file-storage sites)

Some of this stuff might be dictated by the package you are using, but still good to have figured out.