As December comes to a close, let's take a look at the Ecommerce Developer articles you and your peers read most.
This month's ten most read articles include several design showcases that may provide inspiration. Other popular articles discussed iPhone development; building complex content sliders, movers, and faders; and creating seamless background images.
So here they are, in countdown style, December 2010's most read articles.
No. 10: Send Product URLs Via Text-Message with this PHP Script
Many ecommerce sites offer shoppers the opportunity to share a product with friends via email or a social network. But with texting on the rise, why not also give shoppers the ability to send a product link to their mobile phone via text message?
No. 9: Finding Design Inspiration On Restaurant Sites
Ecommerce web design inspiration can come from anywhere.
You might be walking down a street in the middle of winter, and get some bit of inspiration. Recently, Site Director Armando Roggio found a few restaurant websites that inspired him both in terms of site design and in how they were able to capture my attention and, frankly, make one want to dine.
No. 8: Make a Seamless, Repeating Background Image
Web designers increasingly use large photographs as parts of their sites. One particularly prominent use of photography is through repeating background images.
In this video tutorial, contributor Drew Coffin shows you how to create seamless repeating photographic background images using Adobe Photoshop CS4.
No. 7: Add Video to Your Project with YouTube API and PHP Client Library, Part Two
Product and promotional videos can help ecommerce sites attract and convert more customers.
These powers of attraction and conversion are fueling demand from ecommerce merchants and, thereby, creating opportunities for ecommerce developers willing to insert video into a site renovation or revamp. We previously published "Part One" of this tutorial describing how to retrieve, parse, and display videos from a particular user's YouTube account.
That sort of solution will work great if a merchant is hosting videos on YouTube and then displaying them on site. The example built in that first tutorial placed all of the videos on page in a great big, long line.
No. 6: Using jQuery to Make Complex Content Manipulation Easy, Part Two
Website interaction is an important trend that can and does make a site more professional.
Content sliders, faders, switchers, and movers are all examples of popular website interactions. They are collectively the topic of this tutorial series. This article's aim is to describe how to combine several of these techniques to create an impressive and complex effect. Throughout the project, the examples will be using HTML, CSS, and the jQuery JavaScript Library as I go along.
No. 5: Twenty-Two Great Looking Toy Stores
November and December are prime months for retailers across all segments. They are also prime months for web developers who can give their clients or companies a competitive edge.
No. 4: An Introduction to the iPhone's Action Sheet and UIActionSheet
Have you ever been tapping along on your iPhone when suddenly and without warning an alert message slides up from the bottom of the screen?
That's called an Action Sheet, and it's what we're going to make in this tutorial. UIActionSheet is similar to UIAlertView but it's a bit more customizable.
No. 3: Putting Christmas in Your Site Design
Many online retailers make seasonal changes to their site designs and graphics. These seasonal redesigns help to inform shoppers of special sales and demonstrate that the store is current and professional.
But there is actually something of a debate about whether or not to actually use the term "Christmas," which does have religious undertones, or to use "Holiday," which is more generic. While it is thankfully not usually the web developer or designer's problem to sort out which term makes sense for a particular brand, it can be interesting to see how site designs reflect the terms and the season.
No. 2: Using jQuery to Make Complex Content Manipulation Easy, Part One
Content sliders, faders, and movers have become a mainstay of modern site development.
In fact, manipulating content so that its presentation positively adds to the user experience has become a hallmark of good site design and development. In this post we lay the foundation for building a complex slider and fader.
No. 1: Nineteen Nifty Content Sliders, Movers, and Faders
One of the most popular trends in 2010 has been the use of content sliders, movers, and faders in site design. Almost every page you visit has one or more sliders in use. In this popular showcase, we collected 19 fine examples of moving content around.
