E-Commerce-Building an e-commerce website

Prior to building an e-commerce site a company may look at the systems development lifecycle. 
There are five steps involved in developing a systems lifecycle:
Stage 1 Systems analysis/planning
Stage 2 Systems design
Stage 3 Building the system
Stage 4 Testing
Stage 5 Implementation


Stage1 Systems analysis planning- need to ask the following question-what do we want the e-commerce  site to do for our busines.  It is essential that the business objectives are established prior to building an e-commerce site.

Stage 2 Systems design-company will have to decide on the hardware and software it needs to build its systems.

Stage 3 Building the system-Do we go inside or hire outside companies or consultants. 

Stage 4 Once the system has been built and programmed the company will have to test the system

Stage 5 Implementation-need to be aware of why systems break down.


The company has to decide on the merchant softwar that they will need to incorporate into their website.  This can include the online catalogue, shopping cart, credit card processing and order processing and logistics. 

What is the EC fulfillment process?

• Make sure the customer pays for their goods or services
• Check to make sure the stock is available
• Arrange for shipment of the goods
• Arrange to have insurance for the goods if the customer so desires
• Replace stock if necessary to ensure that there is sufficient stock there for new customers
• Do we need to conduct in-house production
• Do we need to employ contractors to manufacture the goods or deliver the services
• Who is responsible for contacting the customers
• How do we ensure that customers can easily return goods if necessary