What An E-commerce Developer Does

. Tuesday, February 2, 2010
  • Agregar a Technorati
  • Agregar a Del.icio.us
  • Agregar a DiggIt!
  • Agregar a Yahoo!
  • Agregar a Google
  • Agregar a Meneame
  • Agregar a Furl
  • Agregar a Reddit
  • Agregar a Magnolia
  • Agregar a Blinklist
  • Agregar a Blogmarks

When you were a kid, you probably wanted to grow up to be a policeman or a firemen, however, chances are you became a profession that didn’t even exist back then. Even typical professions like “doctor” have many ramifications and specialties that are beyond the understanding of children. Being an e-commerce developer is similar. No child of our generation wanted to become one, yet is one of the new professions that are becoming more and more popular.

An e-commerce developer is not a computer programmer or a “computer guy.” It’s an individual that specializes on solutions for companies regarding the sale of products over the Internet.

This might seems an easy task for most people, since the final result usually is very easy to use. Anyone that has bought a plane ticket online knows what a great advantage it is over having to go to the airport or travel agency, or over being put on hold for hours when calling a company.

Nevertheless, the work that is needed is complex and often monotonous. Imagine a company that literally handles thousands of different products, like BestBuy or Costo. Each and every single one of those products needs to be entered in the system, and with such a long and tedious list, extra care is needed in order to avoid mistakes.

Let’s not forget that all those items have to be categorized in a simple way so that clients can find them easily. Most companies have a classification system that the developer can use, but sometimes he must come up with his own classification.

An e-commerce developer must also select and install an e-commerce payment method. Such method will not only depend on functionality, but also on cost. Certain payment gateways will charge bigger fees than others, but they are more trusted and well-known by clients than cheaper, less popular payment gateways. Thus, costs should not only be measured on immediate payments, but also on projected fees and payments in the future, according to the company’s online sales projections.

As if this were not enough an e-commerce developer has to connect the company’s site with every pertinent system in the company. Finance and accounting will need reports on the sales generated through Internet, sometimes on real time. Production and shipment should have reports on the items requested and the addresses to which to ship, in order to plan the cheapest and more efficient shipment loads possible. The marketing department will also be involved for surveys, change of prices, and advertisement through the company’s website.

As you can see, being an e-commerce developer isn’t as easy. However, for those who like to work with computers, it’s a good profession. And with the market requiring these skills more and more, salaries in this field are very good.

0 comments: