EDA Online Store

E-commerce Internet Site

1. Introduction.

The world of trade has new dimensions nowadays - the E-commerce. It is the fastest developing marketing of all times. E-commerce has no borders, no time, no place.

E-commerce allows traders to have their storehouses non-stop open - no physical borders, no time zones, no need of huge stores or to employ lots of personnel. All traders need is advertising their products in Internet.

On the other hand customers may find what they need - products or services - for the shortest time - the time needed to click the mouse. All problems from the past - lack of protection or secured Internet payment system - are already history.

EDA Ltd. provides specialized E-commerce solutions which make it easier for traders and customers to offer and look for products and services providing protected payment transactions.

These are systems, ordered by clients as well as EDA own solutions [screens]. Our experience up to now allowed us to start developing some basic modules of E-commerce Internet site thus enabling us to develop projects ordered by clients, interested in such systems. Using "system" further on we shall mean the whole set of systematic and applied programme means constituting the E-commerce Internet site.

2. Elements.

The system is aimed at E-commerce via Internet of products, goods or services offered to customers providing contracting their sale upon orders placed and following their execution through the following means:

- Products.

- Users and Customers.

- Basket and orders.

- Additional elements.

a) Products.

Products are the basic object of E-commerce sites. They can also be goods or services. Products can be placed in groups in three levels, they can also be described and propertyized, and have their sales price fixed.

- The system products are organized hierarchically in three levels – stores, departments and products.

Hierarchical Structure of Products

The products organization in such a structure allows their easy management and placing them in different pages for fast search, find and view. To make the system more flexible a product may be placed in more than one department and a department may be placed in several stores.

- Products have an additional system describing their properties, organized in categories and attributes.

Organization of products attributes in categories

- Every product is attached to a store and his attributes are only these attributes, which define the store.

Product <-> Attributes connection

Every page of e-commerce part of the public site is convenient for clients - they have a possibility to access products easy. So they can find what they look for.

These are possibilities of doing search:

o left-side menus about stores, pricelists - with information from the database;

o names of products' manufacturers are extracted from database and are shown in left-side menu also;

o shown products on every page reloading are different. Next to the product are his price and “buy now” button to add the product to the basket immediately.

o the products have a little image so the clients can have the information about the product better than only from product's name;

o there is a possibility to make search by string or a part of a sting on every page;

o top sellers are shown on every page and depend on its content. If the client looks at “monitors”, in this menu are shown monitors.

It is very convinient that if the client is an registered customer and is logged in, his basket with information about its content is shown on every page.

There is a little horizontally menu which “remembers” where the client comes from. So the navigation is very easy.

Products categorization allows flexible description of their properties and provides the system with additional search criteria (filtering) applied to the catalogue information.

ОJoining properties in categories allows the system to display comparative information on group of products (chosen by the customer) on different WEB pages which allows the customer to choose quickly the product meeting his criteria.

- Products [screens] are described with respect to name, description, overview, part number of the retailer and the manufacturer, expire date and etc.

- There is information on every product price, comprising of:

o End price - price for end-users;

o Sale price - in case product is in promotion;

o Dealer price - level 1;

o Dealer price - level 2, higher discount;

o Currency – the currency of the price; it may differ the currency of the transaction.

o Date – оthe date when the prices become into force.

The system stores information on past product prices which allows entering of “future” prices, i.e. prices which shall become valid on a specific date and time in the future. Customers are always being displayed the up-to-date price, i.e. the price valid on the current date and time.

The system allows saving product prices in several different currencies for traders convenience. The moment an order is placed prices are calculated in the currency of the transaction (in Bulgaria it is BGN) using the current exchange rate.

- Every product, department or store may have an “image” (one or several) of GIF, JPG or SWF (Flash animation) format to be displayed on the relevant product pages thus contributing to their attractiveness.

b) Users and Customers.

Every visitor to the WEB site is a system's user. He may view all products, their end-prices, to download price-lists for end-users. He may also choose the product he wants to purchase from the so called market basket or simply basket but he is not allowed to do shopping.

Customer is every system's user who have registered with the system. He may get use of any services offered on the WEB site, the most important being shopping and following the status of the orders he has placed.

- The information on registered customers includes:

o User name - used for identification in the system;

o Password – used for authentication by the system;

o E-mail address - used for correspondence with the client;

o Contact name - used in the correspondence.

- While working every customer may save its own address information [screen] in the so called address book, namely:

o Preferred shipping address;

o Preferred billing address;

o Aditional addresses which can be used either for the shipping or for billing purposes.

This address information is accessible on the page where the customer's personal data [screen] is and he can change it /by adding new addresses and/or deleting old ones/ whenever he wants.

- Every new customer acquires the status of an “end user” and he can see only the end and promotional prices of the products. “The level” of a client may be changed anytime to:

o Invalid client - the client is deprived of shopping and has no access to his personal data and orders he has placed;

o End-user - basic level (granted at the time of registration);

o Dealer - dealer level;

o Dealer - dealer level with higher discount.

Customers from different level have different access to price information [screens] and to documents containing products price-lists.

- The system allows storing and placing at customer's disposal price-lists and other documents (brochures, user's manuals, audio and video, etc.) Each price-list or document is being assigned an accessed level which corresponds the customers' levels.

- For the purpose of easy search and find the price-lists and the documents are organized in sections. When a document is uploaded in the database the system automatically recognizes and records:

o Its type (if it's a text file, document, Flash animation, audio or video file);

o Its name;

o The document's size in bytes.

Customers at a particular level have access only to documents corresponding to their level and the sublevels. End-users don't have access to dealers' price-lists while dealers may download the price-lists for end-users.

c) Basket and orders.

The basket [screen] is the place where users and clients put the products which they intend to purchase. The basket information is kept long enough after user's log-out of the system so that every time the user logs-in again he can access it, browse it and put or remove products. This process is not time-limited.

The basket content is as follows:

- User/customer id;

- Basket creation date;

- Products quantity;

- List of products with every product:

o Product id and name;

o Quantity, price (in the currency of the price-list) and value;

o .. etc.

The moment the customer decides to buy these products and upon entering the information necessary to make the sale, the basket transforms into order. The order includes details on:

- Basket content:

o Shipping cost;

o Tax;

o VAT;

o Total value of the order.

- Address information of shipping and billing;

- Shipping method;

- Payment method;

- rder status (initially is “placed”).

Any moment the customer may track his order [screen] and have information on date and time its status has been changed. Information is saved on every status the order has passed, namely:

- The status itself - placed, approved, processed, fulfilled, shipped, removed;

- Date of status change;

- Additional information.

d) Additional elements.

Apart from the basic modules the system is able to manage additional information, necessary to add to the website content. This allows adding of new functions to contribute to system's attractiveness.

At the moment these modules are:

- Help [screen] – management of the most frequently asked question by the clients (grouped by themes) and their organization in a convenient form with respect to their use;

- News [screen] – enter and edit company news (grouped by sectors);

- Questions and answers / Q & A / [screen] - information about site operating and its advantages;

- Clients [screen] – a list with clients' references (grouped by industry) thus showing the company's portfolio of satisfied clients;

- Projects [screen] – a list and description of company's projects thus advertising company's achievements.

3. General structure.

The website consists of several web pages linked via a system of menus and hyperlinks providing convenient and fast navigation. Most of the pages are dynamic which means their content is not static but is dynamically generated every time on the basis of the up-to-date information retrieved from the database.

The Internet site consists of two parts:

- Public site [screen] which is the site visited and servicing the users and clients;

- Admin site [screen] site which services the system administrators - the products managers who enter and edit information on the products and the price-lists; the trade managers who process the clients' orders; the maintenance staff.

The next site map shows the different pages and group of pages which form the public site.

Public site map.

Every page consists of two parts: static and dynamic. The static part consists of title, main menu, submenu and ending part.

The static part enables the user to get used to the location of the links to the main sections of the site and its functions as their position remain unchanged while navigating through the pages.

The dynamic part displays the context- specific information from the website content and usually this is information dynamically retrieved from the database linked to the site thus always providing the user with up-to-date information.

Pages are grouped in several sections.

4. Base pages.

This is the biggest part of the public site. Here are the pages with the catalogue information about the products, the pages for the execution of the orders, the pages with personal (registration) data of the clients and the orders they have placed, the pages for clients servicing.

Following is a map of the and their links.

Product part site map.

Here is a list of these pages and it includes:

а) Products

- Pages with information about products:

o Stores [screen] – home page of the products;

A list of products' databases is displayed, their description and images with links to the page of the respective store page (page Departments).

If the user is known (by cookie) a greeting to him is displayed. If the user is unknown he may log out and/or register again under his name but anyway it doesn't prevent him from working.

o Departments [screen];

A list of the departments of the particular store is displayed with links to their pages (page Products). A drop down list of the products' stores is displayed thus providing fast access to their pages.

A link to price-lists' page is displayed (in case there are price-lists in the database for the chosen store).

o Products [screen];

A list of the products of the chosen department is displayed with a brief information about the product and its price. If the product is in promotion its sale price is in red and the regular price is strikethrough. What is displayed on this page depends on the user's level and it may show the dealers' prices (apart from the end ones).

The name of the product list is at the same time a link to a page with detailed information about the respective product (page Product). This link is available only in case there is detailed information about the product in the database.

Next to every product there is a button to add the product to the basket. This is a link to the basket page so that the user can check what he has added to it and what is the basket content or to change the quantity of the ordered product.

The page enables the users to filter (limit) the list of the products according to the values of their properties. This is realized by two drop down lists: the first one containing the properties' names which may be used for filtering purposes and the second one containing the properties' values. Upon selecting a property's value the list is limited only to the products which property is of the chosen value.

Other additional elements are the check boxes in front of every product providing selection of many products to be shown in a table of comparison (page Compare) [screen].

There is also a link to page Price-lists (provided that there are price-lists for the selected stores in the database).

There is also a back button to page Departments and information is stored where exactly the user came from so that he could be back there.

o Product [screen];

This is the page with the most detailed information about the product and it's named with the product's name.

The following information is displayed on the page in a table: information about the product, detailed description of the product and detailed specification with the product's properties.

There is also an image of the product, its current and sale price and trader's and manufacturer's product numbers.

There is a button on the page to add the product to the shopping basket.

There is also a back button to page Products and information is stored where exactly the user came from so that he could be back there.

o Search [screen];

The search page is a very convenient and easy to use tool.

Initially there is only a search field and a go button to start the search. Upon entering random text and start the search the system displays the result (if any) as a list of departments and products which meet the search criteria.

The Search command searches across: the departments' names and their description, the products' names and their description, the products' numbers and their properties' values.

In the list of departments, found upon search, the departments' names are the links to the departments' pages.

Upon finding the products which meet the search criteria there is an add button next to every product in the product list so that it can be added in the basket. The name of the product is the link to the product's page.

There is a search criteria field and a search button on every page of the website so that it can be used anytime.

o Compare [screen].

This is a very useful page for the users. This is the page where comparative information about several products of similar attributes and their values is displayed. It is very suitable for fast selection of product meeting the search criteria.

A comparative table is displayed where in the columns are the products' data and in the rows - the compared properties. The attributes' names, grouped by category, are in the first column. Next columns contain an image of the product, its name and price, an add button to add the product to the shopping basket, trader's and manufacturer's product number. Following is product's attributes (their values), grouped by category and type as set in the first column of the table. Should there is no value for a particular attribute a dash (“-“) is displayed .

Every attribute name in the first column is the link which makes the system arrange the columns with the products in an ascending order with respect to the values of that attribute and the page is renewed. If it is a price the cheapest product will be placed in the first column.

Every column with a product has at its top a link that orders the system to remove the product from the comparison table.

The button with the name of the department is the link to the Products page where the user has come from.

b) Pricelists and documents

Pricelists and documents are available to the users according to their access level.

- Price lists [screen]

A dynamic page in witch the customer can choose which information to include in his pricelist. The page is available from the left-side menu.

If the client clicks “More” from the left-side menu the list of stores and departments is full.

If the client clicks a name of a store from the menu, the list contains only departments from this store.

The pricelist will contain information about products of checked stores and departments. If the store name is checked, all its products will be included in the offer. If only department names are checked, the pricelist will include only their products. If no name is checked, all products will be included in the pricelist.

There is a text on the page to help the clients.

The pricelists can be generated in HTML and Excel (XML or CSV) type.

There is a left-side menu to documents, stored in the database.

- Documents [screen]

Operating with document is similar to operating with pricelists. A short help text is in the page. The clients can view all documents (by clicking “More”) or files from choosen store by its name.

c) Shopping process

- Pages for the shopping process:

This is that part of the website where the e-commerce is done and the deals with the customers are concluded. The access to these pages (apart from the “Basket” page) is via secure socket layer (SSL) upon login.

o Basket [screen];

This is the homepage for start shopping. The basket content together with the current prices of every product and the total value of all products in the respective currency is displayed here. There are also fields to enter data thus changing every product ordered quantity and a recalculate button. Next to every product there is a button by which a product may be removed from the basket. There is also a button to empty the whole basket and a button to place an order (it's a link to the next page - “Shipping address”).

o Shipping address [screen];

On this page the shipping address is specified by the client. First the preferred shipping address is displayed (if any in the address book) and a button to select this it. Following is the list of the rest addresses from the address book and a from enter a new shipping address. This form is used in case there are no addresses in the address book or if the client wants to use temporary another address or he wants to enter a new address in his address book. Upon selection or entering of an address (if it's a proper one) the client goes to the next page – “Shipping method”.

There is also a back button to page – “Basket”.

o Shipping method [screen];

On this page the client selects from a list the shipping method and goes to the next page – “Payment”.

There is also a back button to page – “Shipping address”.

o Payment [screen];

On this page the client selects from a list the payment method and goes to the next page – “Billing”.

There is also a back button to page – “Shipping method”.

o Billing [screen];

This page is similar to the page “Shipping address” but data refers to the billing address. Upon selection from a list the client goes to the next page – “Place order”.

There is also a back button to page – “Payment”.

o Place order [screen];

On this page the order content is displayed: the basket content with an edit button (to page “Basket”), ), calculated in the currency of the order; shipping address with an edit button (to page “Shipping address”"); shipping method with an edit button (to page “Shipping method”); billing address with an edit button (to page “Billing”"); payment with an edit button (to page “Payment”). Additional information is displayed at the end (if any).

There is a button “Place order”by which the client confirms the reviewed order and places the order. In this case the system accepts the order and sends notification e-mails to the client and to the administrator in charge of the ordered products. If the order is placed successfully the client goes to the next page – “Confirm” (of the accepted order).

o Confirm [screen].

On this page the client receives confirmation of the accepted order together with detailed information about it. There is a back button here to the page with the products for sale.

d) Your account

- Customers' account pages:

o Your account [screen];

This is the main page for clients' servicing. There are links to the pages with the personal data, addresses, placed orders information and to the page for recovering of a forgotten password.

If the customer is recognized by the system his name appears at the beginning of the page. If it is not the customer working at that moment a notice warns him to identify himself (link to the identification page).

o Change personal data [screen];

On this page the customer may change the following data: user name, contact name, e-mail address and password.

o Forgotten password [screen];

A set of pages enabling the customer to change the forgotten password with a new one.

o Address book [screen];

Displays information about all addresses in the customer's address book and the shipping and billing address preferred by him. The old addresses may be edited or deleted and new ones may be added.

o Information about orders [screen].

Several pages of the same structure displaying: reacent orders (“n” in number); all orders; only “open” orders, i.e. placed orders but not filled yet and the shipped orders. A list of the orders, their status and order value as well as the total value of the orders in the list is displayed. Every order has a link to the page with the detailed order and it can be printed.

- Pages for clients servicing:

o Identification [screen];

Pages for identification and authentication (login) of the clients in the system.

ВIn the first part of the page there are two fields - one for user's name and one for password and by entering them the client “introduces” himself to the system.

In the second part of the page there is a button forwarding the new clients to the registration page.

In the third part of the page there is a help button for clients who have forgotten their password and want to enter a new one without registration.

o Registration of new clients [screen].

On this page the clients enter data for registration purposes: user's name; contact name; e-mail address and password.

5. Additional pages.

This is the smaller part of the public site. These are the pages with information about the firm - owner ofte the site.

Here is an information about:

- which is the owner of the site and what is its business;

- contact information;

- partners of the firm;

- clients of the firm;

- projects of the firm;

- news;

- how to operate with the site;

a) About the company

This group comprises the pages with general information about the company, letters of reference by clients, projects, partners, etc.

- About the company [screen] - a static page with information about the company (may consist of several pages);

- Our clients [screen] – a dynamic page with reference to important or successful company clients. Its content is based on the information entered in the database. In fact there are three pages: a homepage with brief description and a list of the most important clients, the second page with a full list of the clients and the third page with detailed information about every client as follows:

o Name and description of the client;

o Information about the client's activity and the industry he represents;

o Link to the client's web page (URL).

- Our projects [screen] – a dynamic page comprising references of successful projects, developed by the company. Its content is based on the information entered in the database. There are two pages here: a homepage with a brief introduction and a list of all projects (entered in the database) and the second page with detailed information about the project as follows:

o Project name;

o Name, graphic logo and description of the client-company;

o Main Features;

o Specific Solution;

o Information on the resources used in the development: team, time needed, etc.;

o Link to the client's web page (URL) or to the project.

- Partners [screen] – сa static page with information about the company's partners. It may comprise several pages with appropriate presentation of every partner and the type of partnership (on distribution, representation, etc. basis);

- News [screen] – a dynamic page with company's news or important events. It comprises three pages: a page with the latest news grouped by sectors and chronologically; news can be sorted by sectors. The second page is accessible via a hyperlink from the news title and it displays all the information in the news: date, title, source, author, city, full text. The third page is also accessible via a hyperlink - this is an archive of all news in the database which can be sorted by sectors.

b) Contact

- Contact [screen]

One or several static pages containing information about the contacts of the company running the e-commerce shop.

- Feedback [screen]

A page containing a form to send an e-mail to the system's administrator. Several fields to enter information are displayed. In the fields for the name and the e-mail of the user the system automatically downloads data from the database if the customer is recognized by the system.

- Questions and answers [screen]

A dynamic page containing the most frequently asked question and their answers, grouped by their themes.

- Terms of service

A static page containing the conditions under which services provided by the website for e-commerce may be used (usually this is legal information).

c) Help [screen]

The pages with the information about the clients - how to operate with the site and its possibilities and advantages.

Information is organized by themes for convinience.

4. Admin site [screen]

This site is bigger and more complex than the public one. It is a really web based application for management of the public website content, management of the database information and management of the users, customers and their orders.

Browsing the pages of this site is controlled and is possible only upon identification and authentication of the administrators. This site may be operate by SSL link (recommended). All pages have static and dynamic parts. The static part contains a header with information on the authenticated administrator, logout button and left aligned main menu for fast access to the administrative functions.

All users of the administrative site are called administrators. They may have different functions: product managers administrate products data, price-lists, etc.; customers administrators are responsible for customers registration and customers level of access; orders managers process all orders placed.

Administrative site map.

a) Products management:

- Stores

Enter and/or edit stores and organization of their departments. A group of pages вЂ“ one containing the whole list, one for editing, one for entering new stores and one for deleting stores.

o List [screen]

A list of all stores is displayed. The name of the store is the link to the page containing the departments in this store. Next to every store is a link to the functions: Edit (page Edit) and Delete (page Delete). A link to New Store is at the beginning of the list.

o Edit [screen]

A table of fields for editing stores related data and links to Save and Cancel is displayed on the first part of the page. The second part contains a list of this store departments and links to Delete in order to Detach the department from that store. The third part displays the name of the image for that store and a link to Delete function in order to Detach the image from the store.

There is a backward button to the stores list.

o New store

Displays a table of fields for entering stores related data and links to Save and Cancel. There is a backward button to the stores list. Upon saving the page transforms to Edit page.

o Delete

Displays data on the store, subject of deleting and links to confirmation function вЂ“ Yes and canceling function вЂ“ No to deleting. There is a backward button to the stores list.

- Departments

Enter and/or edit the products departments and organization of products in departments. Management of the categories, containing products parameters. A group of pages вЂ“ one containing the whole list, one for editing and one for deleting departments.

o List [screen]

A list of all departments is displayed. The name of the department is the link to the products page, included in it. There are two functions available next to every department: Edit (to Edit page) and Delete (to Delete page). At the end of the list there are fields for entering new departments and a link to Add a new department function.

There is also a field for selection of a store available enabling fast access to a similar page containing the list of departments from the selected store.

o Edit [screen]

A table of fields for editing departments related data and links to Save, Cancel and Save As (copy) is displayed on the first part of the page. The second part contains a list of the stores in which is the department and links to Delete in order to Detach the department from that store. After the list there is a Select filed and a link to Add function in case the department is to be added to the selected store.

The third part displays a list of categories according to which the products from that department can be classified and a link to Delete function in order to Detach the category from that department. After the list there is a Select filed and a link to Add function in case the selected category is to be added to the department.

The fourth part displays the name of the image for that department and a link to Delete function in order to Detach the image from that department.

There is a backward button to the departments list.

o Delete

Displays data on the department, subject of deleting and links to confirmation function - Yes and canceling function - No to deleting. There is a backward button to the departments list.

- Products

Enter and/or edit the products related data. Full description of products, their parameters, prices and images. A group of pages - a page containing the whole list, an Edit page, one for entering a new product, one for entering and editing their parameters values and one for entering and editing their prices.

o List [screen]

A list of all products from the selected department is displayed. There are links to two functions available next to every product: Edit (to Edit page) and Delete (to Delete page). A link to New Product function is at the beginning of the list (to New Product page). There is a check box in front of the product and a link to Enter Price after the product to facilitate fast entering of prices for all products selected.

At the beginning of the list there are two fields allowing selection of a store and a department thus enabling fast access to a similar page containing the list of products from the store and department selected.

o Edit [screen]

A table of fields for editing products related data and links to Save, Cancel and Save As (copy) is displayed on the first part of the page. A table with the product’s l atest prices listed chronologically with links to Edit and Delete prices function is displayed in the second part. At the beginning of this table there is a field for new prices entering and a link to Add New Price function. The second part contains also a list of the departments in which the product is included and links to Delete in order to Detach the product from that department. After the list there is a Select filed and a link to Add function in case the product is to be added to the selected department.

The third part displays a list of categories, the same as in the departments, to which the product belongs, their attributes and values (parameters) and a link to Delete function in order to delete this parameter. There is a link to Edit Parameters page at the beginning of the list.

The fourth part displays the name of the image for that product and a link to Delete function in order to Detach the image from that product. Several images can be attached to one product.

There is a backward button to the products list.

o New product [screen]

A table for entering product related data and links to Save and Cancel is displayed. There is a backward button to the products list. Upon save the page is transformed to Edit page.

There are next possibilities for fast editing of checked products:

o Entering prices (bulk edit) [screen]

A list of the products which prices are to be entered is displayed. Next to every product a field allows entering of prices. There is a Save prices button and a backward button to the products list.

o Entering sale prices [screen]

Similar to entering prices.

o Entering attributes [screen]

Similar to entering prices.

o Entering the product statuses [screen]

Similar to previous pages.

o Attach all products to the title department

All products from the list can be attached to their title department.

o Edit Attributes [screen]

Information on categories, attributes and their values (parameters) classified in categories in displayed. All categories from the departments are listed. There is an Enter/Edit field next to every attribute to edit its value and a field to select a value from all entered values for that attribute and category within the department. Links to Save and Cancel and a backward button to the products list.

This is the main page to enter new prices of products.

- Categories

Enter and/or edit the categories and the their attributes (parameters). A group of pages - a page containing the whole list, an Edit page, one for entering and editing the attributes of the categories and one for entering new categories.

o List [screen]

A list of all categories displayed. There are links to two functions available next to every category: Edit (to Edit page) and Delete (to Delete page). A link to New Category function is at the beginning of the list (to New Category page).

o Edit [screen]

A table of fields for editing categories related data and links to Save and Cancel is displayed on the first part of the page. The second part contains a list of the category attributes and links to Edit and Delete the selected attribute. A field to enter a new category is displayed in the third part and an Add button.

There is a backward button to the categories list.

o New Category

A table with a field to enter the category name and links to Save and Cancel is displayed. There is a backward button to the categories list. Upon Save the page transforms to Edit page.

- Images

Pages for administration of images (images and Flash animation), used for the design of the public site. The system allows storing images and Flash animation in the data base and their dynamic display on the pages of the stores, departments and products in the public site. Two dynamic pages - one with the list of the images and one containing detailed image properties.

o List [screen]

A list containing all images stored in the database is displayed. There are links to two functions available next to every image: Edit (the image name) and Delete. The image name is the link to its detailed page (Image Data page).

At the bottom of the page there are two tables containing fields for entering new images data and their saving into the database. The first table allows selection of a file with an image from the local PC (or local network) while the second one allows selection of an image via Internet of URL of the image.

o Image Properties [screen]

A page containing detailed image properties and information to which stores, departments and products the image is “attached to”.

The first part of the page displays the image and dimensions buttons /enlarge, shrink, real size and fit to window) to modify the image size.

The second part displays the image properties (name, size in bytes, size in pixels and mime type) and fields to modify the image (from the local PC or Internet).

The third part displays three tables containing lists of the products, departments and stores “attached to” that image and a link to “Detach” function. The function “Attach” the image to an object (product, department or store) is available at the beginning of every table.

There is a backward button to the images list.

b) Management of Customers

- Customers

A page allowing processing of clients’ data. The system saves the clients’ registration data in the database and allows the administrators to make inquiries, to change the access level (even to cancel the right of access) as well as to edit and to delete this information. A group of three dynamic pages - one containing the clients’ list, one for editing and one for deleting.

o List [screen]

A list of all registered clients is displayed on this page. Next to every client in a Select field is displayed the client’s level of access (access to price lists) and a link to Change Level function. There are two functions for every client - Edit (to Edit page) and Delete. A filter field to select a letter from the alphabet is displayed at the beginning of the list (i.e. upon filtering the list contains only the clients whose names begin with the selected letter).

o Edit [screen]

A table of fields for editing the clients’ data (without the password because it is saved in an encrypted type and the system cannot decrypt it) and links to Save and Cancel are displayed on the first part of the page. The second part contains a list of the client’s address book without possibility to edit it. A list of the client’s credit card (not showing the full credit card number) and also without permission to edit it is displayed in the third part.

There is a backward button to the clients’ list which plays the role of Cancel, too.

o Delete

Data related to the client subject of deleting is displayed and links to confirm - Yes and cancel - No the deleting.

There is a backward button to the clients’ list.

- Levels

A page to manage the clients’ access levels. Assigning levels is needed in order to offer the relevant price data to the clients of the e-commerce shop. Consists of two dynamic pages - one containing the list of access levels and the second one - enabling editing.

o List [screen]

A list of clients’ access levels is displayed. The first line is level “0” which in fact strikes off the list a certain client (this level can not be subject of editing or deleting). Levels from 1 to 3 follow. You can select how many levels of clients, except for “0” level, the system shall support but there must be at least one level. There are links to Edit and Delete functions next to every level (if the system supports only one level except for the “0” level, the function Delete is not displayed). Following the list there is a form of fields to enter data for a new level and Add button.

o Edit

A page similar to the List page but only the table with the levels’ list is displayed and the level’s related data subject of editing is transformed to an Edit field. Links to Save and Cancel are displayed next to the level.

- Documents

Pages to manage the price lists (or any files containing documents, images, audio and video data, etc.), i.e.: upload, description, organization with respect to the clients’ level or products groups. The system allows uploading and saving in the database files containing documents and after that they are offered for downloading by the users and customers. These are two dynamic pages - one containing a list of price-lists and the second one - for editing.

o List [screen]

A list of the price-lists /documents/ saved in the database is displayed. It is sorted with respect to the related stores and the clients’ levels. There are links to Edit and Delete functions next to every document.

There are two filter fields at the beginning of the list - one containing all stores and the second one - containing the levels.

Following is a form of fields to enter data for a new document and Add button.

o Edit

A page similar to the List page but only the table with the documents’ list is displayed and the document related data subject of editing is transformed to an Edit field. Links to Save and Cancel are displayed next to the document.

- Price Lists

Pages for inserting price information about the products from .xls file. There must be an information about products' part or manufacturer number or both witch to be corresponding to products in the database. If there is no information about date and currency of prices, the data from the begining of the page will be used. Paste .xls data in the textarea of the page [screen] and click “Analyze”.

The information will be analyzed and labels for columns will be offer [screen]. Change labels if necessary and click “Check”.

The system will search the database for products with part and manufacturer numbers according to the pasted data and choosen labels. If there is such product the first checkbox will be checked. If there is an information about price, the second checkbox will be checked. In the database will be inserted information only for products with two checked checkboxes [screen].

Click “Prepare” to prepare information for inserting: prices and currency [screen].

Click “Insert” to insert the data - list of products with inserted data will be displayed [screen].

There is а legend on the pages.

- Statuses

Pages for inserting product statuses from .xls file. The work is like inserting of prices, described on the previous page.

The data from the .xls file have to be pasted in the textarea [screen]. The first row of this information must contain the column names - Part #, Mfg #, Name, OnStock, Expected, OnOrder.

Click “Analyze” and look at the analyzes data [screen].

Click “Check” to search the database for products with pasted part and manufacturer numbers. If there is a corresponding product in the database, the first checkbox will be checked. If there is an information about product status in pasted data, the second checkbox will be checked. Only information about products with two checked checkboxes will be stored in the DB [screen].

Click “Prepare” - only products witch information will be stored in the DB remain [screen]. The priority of status information is: OnStock, Expected, OnOrder. If there is information in more than one column for statuses of a product the first-priority column data will be inserted.

Click “Insert” to save the information in the database. The list of products with stored data will be displayed [screen].

There is a legend on the pages.

c) Orders Management:

- orders

СPages to manage the clients’ orders. These are three dynamic pages - one containing a form to enter the orders search criteria, the second one containing the list of the orders meeting the search criteria, the third one enabling View/Edit of the order and the last one - for Printing the order.

o Search Criteria [screen]

This is the first page to be displayed when start working with orders. It consists of a table of fields to enter properties as search criteria to filter the database so only the orders meeting the search criteria to be displayed. The search criteria may be: from …. to ……. (today, from yesterday, the current or the previous week, this or the previous month or the time period between any two dates); client’s name (a set of characters to search for the client’s name); product’s name (a set of characters to search for the product’s name); order’s total value, calculated in the currency of the deal (i.e. USD or BGN) (to 100, from 100 to 1000, from 1000 to 5000, 5000 and up or between any two values); order’s status (placed, approved, etc.). In case of more than one search criteria all of them are taken into consideration. Any of the search criteria may be used in the administrators’ work.

Links to Place the order and Blank the from are available.

o List [screen]

At the beginning of the page the Search criteria form is displayed again thus showing the search criteria met by the orders displayed in the list. This enables entering of new search criteria and to start searching again.

Following is a list with a brief description of the orders that meet the search criteria, arranged by date. There is a field to change the status of the order and to enter the reason for this change next to every order. Links to Save (new status) and Cancel (the changes made) are available next to every order.

Every order’s number is the link to the detailed page of the order.

The total value of the orders in the list is displayed at the end of the table.

o Order [screen]

All data related to the order is displayed. If the order is Placed, the page displays the data that can be changed in Edit fields and a link to Save function is available.

The last table contains a form to enter a new status of the order, Save it and displays any statuses related to this order and arranged by date and a link to Delete a certain status.

A link to Print the order is displayed at the end of the page (to Print page).

o Print

A page with all the data related to the order (in a separate window of the browser), fit for printing. There are two buttons displayed - one to start printing and another one to close the window. The printing may be activated via the system functions of the browser.

- Status

A page to Enter/Edit the order’s status. The system allows using these statuses when servicing the clients’ orders. Consists of three dynamic pages - one containing the list of statuses, one for editing and one for deleting.

o List [screen]

A list of all orders’ statuses is displayed. Links to Edit and Delete are available next to every status.

Following is a form to enter a new status and an Add button.

o Edit

A page similar to the List page but only the table containing the list of statuses is displayed and the status related data subject of editing is transformed to an Edit field. Links to Save and Cancel are displayed next to this status.

o Delete

Data related to the status subject of deleting is displayed and links to confirm - Yes and cancel - No the deleting.

There is a backward button to the list of statuses.

- Country

Pages to entering countries in witch the shipping is available.

o List [screen]

Next to the every country in the list are links to “edit” and “delete” the entry.

There is a possibility to add a country to the list.

o Edit [screen]

The name of the country can be edited.

In this page have to be given the dependence between countries and available shipping methods and countries and available payment methods.

- Shipping

A page to Enter/Edit the means of shipment maintained by the trader. The system allows offering the means of shipment to the clients prior to placing their orders. Consists of two dynamic pages - one containing the means of shipment and one for editing.

o List [screen]

НA list of means of shipment is displayed. Links to Edit and Delete functions are available next to every means of shipment.

Following is a form to enter new means of shipment and an Add button.

o Edit

A page similar to the List page but only the table containing the list of means of shipment is displayed and the means of shipment subject of editing is transformed to Edit fields. Links to Save and Cancel are displayed next to this means of shipment.

- Payment

СA page to Enter/Edit the terms of payment maintained by the trader. The system allows offering the terms of payment to the clients prior to placing their orders. Consists of two dynamic pages - one containing the terms of shipment and one for editing.

o List [screen]

A list of terms of shipment is displayed. Links to Edit and Delete functions are available next to every term of payment.

Following is a form to enter new terms of payment and an Add button.

o Edit

A page similar to the List page but only the table containing the list of terms of payment is displayed and the term of payment subject of editing is transformed to Edit fields. Links to Save and Cancel are displayed next to the edited term of payment.

- Currency

A page to Enter/Edit the type of currencies used by the system and their current rates of exchange. The system allows storing chronological data on the exchange rates applied in the price lists of the products. The exchange rates refer to the currency used by the traders when dealing. Consists of five dynamic pages - one containing the list of all currencies and their rates of exchange, one for editing the description of the currency, one for deleting a currency, one for entering and editing of the exchange rates and one for deleting a particular exchange rate.

o List [screen]

At the top of the page a list of all currencies, used within the system and their exchange rates are displayed. There is a field for entering a new exchange rate next to every currency. Links to Edit and Delete functions are available (to Delete page). At the beginning of the table there is a field to enter the valid date for the new exchange rates subject of entering (as default the current date is displayed) and at the end of the table there is a link to Save new exchange rates. The names of the currencies and the current exchange rates are links to the page containing the exchange rates.

Following is a form to enter data for a new currency and an Add button.

o Edit

Edit fields to edit the selected currency is displayed and a Save button. There is a backward button to the currency list.

o Delete

Data referring to the currency subject of deleting is displayed and a Delete button are displayed. There is a backward button to the list of the currencies.

o Currency Rates [screen]

Displays a table of rates of exchange in a reverse chronological order. Links to Edit and Delete functions are available next to every exchange rate. Fields to enter new exchange rate are displayed on the first row of the table and a link to Save function.

Above the table there is a field to select a range of currencies to be displayed in the table, namely: last 7, last 30, current year or display all.

There is a backward button to the list of the currencies.

o Delete Currency Rates

Data referring to the exchange rate subject of deleting is displayed on this page and a Delete button.

There is a backward button to the list of the currencies.

- Taxes

A page to enter the taxes applied in the countries where the trader is doing his business. The system allows these taxes (most often VAT) to be calculated in the orders values depending on the country (or state) of the deal. Consists of three dynamic pages - one containing the list of taxes, one for editing and one for entering of a new tax.

o List [screen]

A list of the taxes is displayed on this page. Links to Edit and Delete functions are available next to every tax. At the beginning of the table there is a link to New Tax function (to page New Tax).

o Edit

Fields to edit the selected tax are displayed. Links to Save and Cancel are available next to the fields.

There is a backward button to the list of taxes.

o New Tax

The page displays a table of fields to enter tax related data and links to Save and Cancel functions.

There is a backward button to the list of taxes.

d) Company’s Information:

- Company [screen]

Enter and Edit company related data. This is the page to enter the company’s address, currency of the deal, company’s bank details (if the payment shall be effected by bank transfer), etc.

e) Administrators:

- Administrators

A page to Enter/Edit the system’s administrators. This is the page where the access to the system is managed by a group of administrators. This is the page where the links of the administrators to the group of products are entered which means that in case order for a product from a certain group is placed the administrator shall be notified by e-mail. Consists of two dynamic pages - one containing the list of the administrators and one for editing. Only the admin administrator is authorized to modify the data referring to the rest of the administrators and their access to the system.

o List [screen]

A list of the administrators is displayed on this page. Links to Edit and Delete functions are available next to every administrator in case the admin administrator is operating the system. Otherwise only a link to the Edit function is available next to the administrator operating at the moment.

Following is a form of fields to enter data for a new administrator and an Add button (only if the admin administrator is working).

o Edit [screen]

A page of fields to Edit administrator’s related data. Links to Save and Cancel are displayed next to this administrator. Following is a table containing the list of stores the administrator manages and links to Detach function in order to detach a particular store from the administrator’s responsibilities. A list of the stores is displayed in the field on the last row of the table with a link to the Attach function enabling selection of a store to be attached to a particular administrator.

There is a backward button to the list of administrators.

f) Offers:

- Offers

Pages for making of complex offers with information from the database.

o List [screen]

The list of ready offers is displayed. Every one can be edited, previewed end deleted. The number of the offer is link to edit page.

There is a possibility to add new offer and filter orref's list by the date period.

o Edit [screen]

The information about the offer can be edited on the page.

There are buttons for saving, canceling, going back to the list, previewin and sending the offer to the recipient by the e-mail.

There is a link to offer's content page.

o Configuration content [screen]

This is the page with offer content. Every offer can contain one or more configurations with one or more products in it. Their list is shown after the configuration. Every configuration can be edited and deleted. Its name is link to the edit page.

There is a possibility to enter new configuration - name, quantity, currency, show total, show the price for every product, witch price level to be used and a descriptive text.

o Edit configuration [screen]

This is the page for editing the configuration - its products, their quantity and show order.

Every product can be replaced with another from the same store and department and can be deleted.

There is a button for changing quantities and show order of all configuration products and a table for product witch are not stored in the database.

g) Other information:

- Q & A

A page to enter and edit the most frequently asked questions and their answers. They are grouped by topic and the topics may be entered and edited. Consists of four dynamic pages - one displaying a list of Q & A and enabling entering a new Q & A, one for editing Q&A and grouping them by topic, one displaying the topics and enabling entering a new topic and one for editing the topics.

o List of Q & A [screen]

This is the initial page when you start working with Q & A. A list of all Q & A is displayed and links to Edit and Delete are displayed next to every Q & A. Following is a form of fields to enter a new Q & A and an Add button. There is a search field at the beginning of the table enabling selection of a topic and displaying only the topics that meet the search criteria. Ahead of this field there is a link to the page containing the list of topics.

o Edit Q & A [screen]

A page displaying field to edit Q & A and a Save button. Following is a table containing the list of topics in which the Q & A is classified and a link to Delete function enabling deleting of the Q & A from this topic. There is a search field on the last row of the table enabling selection of topics with a link to the Add function in order to add a particular Q & A to the selected topic.

There is a backward button to the list of Q & A.

o List of Themes [screen]

Displays a list of all themes and links to Edit and Delete functions next to every theme. Following is a form of fields to enter data for a new theme and Add button. The name of a theme is the link to the relevant page “List of Q & A” from the selected theme.

o Edit Themes

A page similar to “List of Themes” page but only the table containing the list of themes is displayed and the data related to the topic subject of editing is transformed in edit fields. Next to the themes links to Save and Cancel are available.

- News

Pages to enter and edit company’s and product’s news. News are classified by sectors. Sectors can be entered and edited. Consists of five dynamic pages - one displaying the list of news, one enabling editing of news and their classification by sectors, one for adding news, one displaying the list of sectors and enabling adding of a new sector and one for editing sectors.

o List of News [screen]

This is the home page when processing news. Displays a list of all news and links to Edit and Delete are available next to every news. The header of the news is the link to page Edit news. A search field enabling selection of a sector is displayed at the top of the page. Ahead of the search field there is a link to the page containing the list of sectors. Following is a link to the Add News page and the list of the news.

o Edit News [screen]

Fields to edit the news are displayed on this page and a link to Save. Following is a table containing the list of sectors in which the particular news is classified and links to Delete function in order to delete the news from the particular sector. There is a search field on the last row of the table enabling selection of a sector with a link to the Add function in order to add news to the selected sector.

There is a backward button to the list of sectors.

o Add News

A table of fields to enter details for the news is displayed on this page with a link to Save function. There is a backward button to the list of news. Upon saving the page transforms to page Edit News.

o List of Sectors [screen]

Displays a list of all sectors and links to Edit and Delete are available next to every sector.

Following is a form of fields to enter data for a new sector and an Add button. The name of the sector is the link to the page List of News from the selected sector.

o Edit Sectors

A page similar to “List of Sectors” page but only the table containing the list of sectors is displayed and the data related to the sector subject of editing is transformed in edit fields. Next to the topic links to Save and Cancel are available.

- our Clients

A page to enter and edit data on respected clients of the company, running the e-commerce shop, which the company wants to present to its customers thus promoting its achievements. This page allows classifying the clients by industry and entering and editing industries. Consists of five dynamic pages - one displaying the list of clients, one for editing clients and classifying them by industry, one for adding a new client, one displaying the list of industries and entering a new industry and one for editing industries.

o Clients List [screen]

ТThis is the home page when start working with clients. Displays a list of all clients and links to Edit and Delete functions are available next to every client. The name of the client is the link to page Edit Clients. A search field enabling selection of an industrial branch is displayed at the top of the page. Ahead of the search field there is a link to the page containing the list of all industrial branches. Following is a link to the Add Client page and the list of the clients.

o Edit Clients [screen]

Fields to edit the clients are displayed on this page and a link to Save. Following is a table containing the list of industrial branches in which the particular client is classified and links to Delete function in order to delete the client from the particular industrial branch. There is a search field on the last row of the table enabling selection of an industrial branch with a link to the Add function in order to add a client to the selected industrial branch. At the bottom of the page there is a link to page “Add Client” (to the same industrial branch).

There is a backward button to the list of clients.

o Add a Client

A table of fields to enter data for the client is displayed on this page with a link to Save function. There is a backward button to the list of clients. Upon saving the page transforms to page Edit Clients.

o List of Industries [screen]

Displays a list of all industrial branches and links to Edit and Delete functions are available next to every industry. Following is a form of fields to enter data for a new industrial branch and an Add button. The name of the industry in the list is the link to page List of Clients of the selected industry.

o Edit Industries

A page similar to “List of Industries” page but only the table containing the list of industries is displayed and the data related to the industry subject of editing is transformed in edit fields. Next to the industry links to Save and Cancel are available.

- Case Studies

A page to enter and edit cases developed by the company, running the e-commerce shop, by which the company wants to promote its developments vis-a-vis its clients. Consists of three dynamic pages - one displaying the list of cases, one for editing a case and one for adding a new case.

o List [screen]

This is the initial page when you start working with cases. A list of all cases is displayed and links to Edit and Delete are available next to every case. The name of the case in the list is the link to the Edit page. There is a link to Add Case page at the beginning of the list.

o Edit [screen]

ТFields to edit cases are displayed on this page and a link to Save. Forms to upload an image of the detailed page of the case in the public site are also displayed.

There is a backward button to the list of cases.

o Add Case

A table of fields to enter details on the case is displayed on this page with a link to Save function. There is a backward button to the list of cases. Upon saving the page transforms to Edit page.

- Help

Pages for storing in the database of information witch helps to the clients to operate with the site and understand what are its possibilities and advantiges. These are four pages - for help themes, edit of a theme, list of helps, edit help.

o Help [screen]

This is the first page of working with help. There is shown a list of helps according to the choosen language and choosen theme. Every question can be edited and deleted. There is a section for inserting new help to the choosen theme.

o Edit help [screen]

The help can be edited and saved on this page. The help can be added to another theme.

There is a back button to the list of helps.

o Themes [screen]

The list of help themes is showm on this page. Every theme can be edited and deleted. The theme name is link to the page with helps of this theme. There is a section for entering the new theme.

o Edit theme

This is the page for editing of a theme. There are buttons for saving and to the list of theme helps.

h) Newsletters:

- Newsletters

Pages for saving in the database of newsletters, their overviewing and sending to all clients whitch want to receive them. The newsletter can be sent to a list of e-mails also.

o Nesletter's list [screen]

This is the first page for newsletters. Every newsletter can be edited and deleted. The list of newsletters can be filtered by a date period.

o Edit newsletter [screen]

This is the page for editing of a newsletter. There are buttons for saving, canceling and going back to the newsletter's list.

After entering the newsletter information, products from selected store and department can be “attached”.

There can be three types of newsletters: with detail information about one product and list of products; with full information about one product only; a list of products. The product with full or detail information must be selected as “favourite”. The favourite product can be deleted from the newsletter.

The newsletter can be viewed by clicking the preview button according to the language.

Every administrator can send a newsletter to one address at a time only but admin can send it to all addresses according their category.

o Enter the newsletter

This is the page for entering the newsletter fields. There are buttons for saving and canceling. After saving this page transfroms in edit page.

- Newsletter logs

Pages for information about newsletters - who and when is sending the newsletter.

o Newsletter list [screen]

This page shows a newsletter list with link to the details about every newsletter (if are available).

o Details [screen]

This page shows the time when the newsletter was sent and who sent it. There is a back button.

- E-mail list [screen]

The page for inserting and editing of e-mail addresses for sending newsletters.

The contact name, information about newsletter language, the e-mail category and price level information have to be written.

E-mail categorization is for convinience.

Every e-mail can be edited and deleted.

The e-mail list can be filtered by: string to be searched in the e-mail or contact name; category; receiving newsletters.

Used technologies

a) Hardware.

- Web server: Intel Pentium II, 500 MGHz, 5GB HDD, 64MB RAM.

- Database server: on the same mashine or mashine with same parameters.

b) System software.

- OS: Linux

- Web server: Apache

- Database server: MySQL

- Firewall and SSL

c) Scripts.

- Active pages: PHP, XML

- Client side: HTML, DHTML, JavaScript, CSS

d) Application Software.

- Not special software. You need a computer with Internet and browser (IE or NS).