Presented at the Joomla World Conference 2013, Harvard University, Boston, MA by Deb Cinkus, CEO of Polished Geek. The road to eCommerce project success is fraught with danger and challenges at every twist and turn. Thoughtful planning for this dangerous journey is key to survival, but how can you possibly plan for the unknown? In this session, Deb will act as your guide, helping you to better understand and effectively plan your next eCommerce project as a website professional. You'll learn about the many danger zones encountered on the eCommerce project path: - The treacherous highs of Payment Peak and lows of Credit Card Canyon - The oh-so-many choices of Shipping Station - The distracting yet alluring Feature Festival - The competing promotions & marketing littered along Buy it Now Boulevard - The unavoidable (and unforgiving) Taxes Tollroad - The time sucking Social Media Soiree - And, of course, the dreaded By-the-Way Bog

1. How to Survive Your Next
eCommerce Project
Deb Cinkus, CEO of Polished Geek
Presented at JoomlaDay Atlanta 2014

2. A Dangerous Journey
Illustration copyright 2013 Polished Geek LLC

3. “Would you tell me, please, which way
I ought to go from here?”
“That depends a good deal
on where you want to get to,”
said the Cat.
“I don’t much care where—” said Alice.
“Then it doesn’t matter which way you go,” said the Cat.
“--so long as I get SOMEWHERE,”
Alice added as an explanation.
"Oh, you’re sure to do that,”
said the Cat, “if you only
walk long enough.”
from Alice's Adventures in Wonderland

4. B2C eCommerce
Illustration copyright 2013 Polished Geek LLC

5. B2B
eCommerce
Illustration copyright 2013 Polished Geek LLC

6. C2B eCommerce
Illustration copyright 2013 Polished Geek LLC

7. C2C eCommerce
Illustration copyright 2013 Polished Geek LLC

8. A Beautiful
Beginning
Illustration copyright 2013 Polished Geek LLC

9. Payment
Peak
Illustration copyright 2013 Polished Geek LLC

10. Navigating Payment Peak
3rd party payment processor
• PayPal Standard, Avangate
• Hosted gateways
Merchant account + gateway
• Authorize.net
• PayPal PRO
Multi-currency
Never email or store
credit card data

11. Payment Hazards
Compliance is the Client’s
responsibility…
but you still need
to know the rules.
Learn more about PCI
• Cover yourself in your SOW contract
• SSL alone is not sufficient!
• Follow best security practices (use
anti-virus, don’t share logins)
• Promote 2-factor authentication
• Establish secure hosting
• Test custom code thoroughly
• Provide or refer to an ongoing
security monitoring service

12. Shipping
Station
Illustration copyright 2013 Polished Geek LLC

13. Virtual products or physical goods
Calculated shipping (API)
• UPS, FedEx, etc.
• Weight, dimensions, package
Flat shipping
• Item quantity or weight
• Cart total value
• Expedited shipping
Free shipping… when?
Shipping Station Safety

14. Shipping Station Hazards
Rules, regulations, restrictions…
• Item restrictions across borders
• Minimum quantities or sets
• Packaging calculations
Delivery management
• Quota per timeslot
• Ordering cutoff times
• Non-delivery areas

15. Feature Festival
Illustration copyright 2013 Polished Geek LLC

16. Feature requirements  Catalog IA
Product compare
Wishlists w/ email follow-up
Multi-channel sales
Analytics & reporting
Multi-vendor
Geolocation
‘Tis a Barrel of Monkeys

17. Buy It Now Blvd
Illustration copyright 2013 Polished Geek LLC

18. Buy It Now Blvd Hazards
Coupons & gift certificates
• Clients are… creative.
• Fully describe functionality in SOW
Email marketing
• External – MailChimp
• Joomla - AcyMail
Reward systems
• Free items / discounts
• Rewards as currency

19. Taxes
Tollroad
Illustration copyright 2013 Polished Geek LLC

20. Taxes Tollroad Hazards
Marketplace Fairness Act pending
• 46 states collect sales tax as of 2013
• Free tax software (AKA free kittens)
“Today, keeping track of a few
thousand local tax rates is no longer
an insurmountable technical,
administrative, or financial burden -
certainly no more difficult than
calculating real-time-shipping, a
common feature on most web sites
and online sales marketplaces.”
MarketplaceFairness.org

21. You are NOT an accountant
• Cover yourself in the SOW
• Get written client direction
VirtueMart supports AvaTax
• EU & USA tax schedules
• RT tax calculations at checkout
• AvaTax fees based on taxable
transactions
HikaShop supports TaxCloud
• Free USA real time tax service
Getting through safely…
Learn more about AvaTax Learn more about TaxCloud Opencart + TaxCloud

22. Social Media
Soiree
Illustration copyright 2013 Polished Geek LLC

23. Social Media Soiree Hazards
Social login / checkout registration
Social sharing after purchase
Social network integration
• JomSocial
• EasySocial
Targeted social ads

24. By the Way Bog
Don’t let this be you.Illustration copyright 2013 Polished Geek LLC

25. Getting through the Gate
Don’t get bogged down at Go Live
• Minimize surprises – document!
• Phase the project
• Visuals are your friend
• Detail the Client’s responsibilities
• Clearly describe when YOU are done
If you find yourself
in the Bog, give
alternatives.

26. Success!
B2B
B2C
C2B
C2C
Illustration copyright 2013 Polished Geek LLC

27. Deb Cinkus,CEO
THE POLISH
deb@PolishedGeek.com
PolishedGeek.com @PolishedGeek
Donald Champion,CTO
THE GEEK
donald@PolishedGeek.com
Slides available online
PolishedGeek.com/roadkill
??? ?
?

28. Deb Cinkus,CEO
THE POLISH
deb@PolishedGeek.com
PolishedGeek.com @PolishedGeek
Donald Champion,CTO
THE GEEK
donald@PolishedGeek.com
Let us guide the way!
Whitepaper available online
PolishedGeek.com/joomla-
ecommerce-roadkill
Feeling lost in
your eCommerce
project?