Question 9 onwards

8.) A cookie is a small text file which is usually placed on a user's hard drive when the user visits a website. This allows the website to remember the users settings when they return. It is useful for transactional websites to store cookies in their users computers so that they can remember any settings they set the website to, e.g. changing the colour scheme, language, text size etc.

9.) It is useful to get a customer to log in to the website so we can track how many times a customer uses the site even when they don't purchase anything. They can track whereabouts in the world the customer is logging on from, and what pages are particular favourites of the customer. This allows the company to get a better idea of who uses the website often and can reward their loyal customers.

Activity
Make a list of the tables you think might be involved in tracking customers' actions.
* Categories
* Categories_products
* Customers
* Discounts
* Emails
* Newsletter
* Orders
* Payments
* Products
* Wishlist

10.) HTTPS encryption is used when the site needs to be secure; e.g. when the customer is giving their credit card details to make a payment. If the details are stored in a database, then the data needs to be encrypted too, so that nobody else could access/understand the data. HTTPS is a version of HTTP but using SSL to make it secure. SSL stands for secure socket layer, which secures communication because it encrypts the data when you transfer it.

11.) This method is safe (even if someone intercepts the website) because the data is encrypted while it is sent, and anyone who intercepted the data would not understand and could not decrypt the data.

12.) A stolen card is unlikely to be used for online shopping because the transactional company usually have contact with the major card issuers. When something is purchased for the first time, the address details can be checked, and first time orders sometimes have to be delivered to the address of the cardholder. Also, transactional websites record the I.P. address of their customers, so the location of the theif could be tracked.

13.) Stock control refers to ordering, storing and selling goods. It is important that stock control is real-time, so that no customers order something that is not in stock. Getting too much stock means that money is tied up which could be spent in other areas of the business, but you don't want customers to be disappointed when something is out of stock. Therefore it is important to have a minimum level of stock at all times. A business can work out what this minimum level should be by analysing past sales and working out an estimate for future sales.

14.) The processes involved in despatch and the delivery of goods are as follows:

Once the customer has ordered, credit cards have been checked etc...
Amend stock database
Print despatch note
Print address labels
Print invoices
Goods packaged
Goods sent/collected by courier
Courier delivers to home address

These processes can often be tracked by the customer. JoeBrowns allows you to track your order, and many transactional websites do. This way, if the website says your package is due to arrive and it doesn't, you can phone up and enquire about where your goods are.

15.) see diagram (on the back of the other diagram)


Bibliography
http://www.eggheaddesign.co.uk/glossary.aspx