E-commerce Course

Lesson 1 • History and Evolution of Online Retail

Traces e-commerce from early web storefronts to mobile-first platforms. Provides context for understanding why current best practices exist.

Lesson 2 • Regulatory and Ethical Landscape

Introduces consumer protection, data privacy, and accessibility obligations relevant to online sellers. Frames compliance as a business enabler, not a barrier.

Lesson 3 • Key Players and Market Structure

Maps the ecosystem of retailers, marketplaces, payment processors, and logistics providers. Shows how each player's role affects strategic decisions.

Lesson 4 • Consumer Behavior Online

Examines how shoppers discover, evaluate, and purchase products digitally. Connects behavioral patterns to store design and marketing choices.

Lesson 1 • Product Catalog Architecture

Structures categories, tags, and filters to help shoppers find products efficiently. Lays the organizational foundation for SEO and inventory management.

Lesson 2 • Domain, Hosting, and Technical Setup

Covers domain registration, hosting selection, SSL certificates, and basic DNS configuration. Ensures students can launch a secure, accessible storefront.

Lesson 3 • Choosing the Right Platform

Compares hosted, self-hosted, and marketplace-based solutions across cost, scalability, and control. Equips students to match platform choice to business model.

Lesson 4 • Store Design and User Experience

Applies UX principles to homepage layout, navigation, and mobile responsiveness. Directly impacts conversion rates introduced in later chapters.

Lesson 1 • Product Descriptions That Sell

Teaches feature-to-benefit translation, scannable formatting, and tone alignment with target audiences. Builds persuasive writing skills used across all marketing content.

Lesson 2 • Pricing Strategy and Display

Introduces cost-plus, competitive, and value-based pricing models alongside psychological pricing tactics. Pricing decisions affect margin and positioning covered later.

Lesson 3 • Writing High-Converting Product Titles

Applies keyword research and clarity principles to craft titles that rank and persuade. Feeds directly into the SEO chapter by establishing on-page content habits.

Lesson 4 • Reviews, Ratings, and Social Proof

Explains how to collect, display, and respond to customer reviews to build credibility. Social proof reinforces trust signals introduced in Chapter 1.

Lesson 1 • Payment Gateway Selection

Compares gateway types by fee structure, supported methods, and integration complexity. Directly affects checkout conversion and operational cost.

Lesson 2 • Fraud Detection and Prevention

Introduces chargeback mechanics, velocity checks, address verification, and 3D Secure authentication. Fraud prevention preserves revenue and merchant standing.

Lesson 3 • Refunds, Disputes, and Reconciliation

Covers refund workflows, dispute response processes, and daily transaction reconciliation. Operational accuracy here supports financial reporting in later chapters.

Lesson 4 • Accepting Multiple Payment Methods

Covers credit cards, digital wallets, buy-now-pay-later, and bank transfers. Expanding payment options reduces checkout abandonment.

Lesson 1 • Demand Forecasting and Reordering

Applies sales velocity, seasonality, and lead time data to set reorder points. Reduces both overstock costs and lost sales from stockouts.

Lesson 2 • Order Processing and Fulfillment

Maps the order lifecycle from receipt to shipment, including pick-pack-ship workflows. Efficient fulfillment directly affects customer satisfaction and repeat purchase rates.

Lesson 3 • Inventory Tracking Systems

Compares spreadsheet, platform-native, and dedicated inventory management software. Accurate tracking prevents overselling and stockouts that damage customer trust.

Lesson 4 • Supplier and Vendor Management

Covers supplier evaluation, purchase order creation, and lead time negotiation. Strong supplier relationships stabilize inventory and reduce costs.

Lesson 1 • Search Engine Optimization for Stores

Applies keyword research, on-page optimization, and technical SEO to product and category pages. Organic traffic reduces long-term customer acquisition costs.

Lesson 2 • Paid Search and Shopping Ads

Covers campaign structure, bidding strategies, product feed optimization, and negative keywords. Paid search delivers immediate traffic while organic SEO matures.

Lesson 3 • Email Marketing and Automation

Builds welcome series, abandoned cart, and post-purchase email flows using segmentation. Email delivers the highest return on investment of any digital channel.

Lesson 4 • Social Media and Influencer Marketing

Teaches organic social content, paid social targeting, and influencer partnership evaluation. Social channels build brand awareness and drive direct sales.

Lesson 1 • Conversion Rate Optimization Fundamentals

Applies heuristic analysis, heatmaps, and session recordings to identify friction points. CRO improves revenue without increasing ad spend.

Lesson 2 • Key E-Commerce Metrics

Defines conversion rate, average order value, customer acquisition cost, and lifetime value. These metrics form the measurement framework for all optimization work.

Lesson 3 • A/B Testing and Experimentation

Designs statistically valid tests for headlines, CTAs, layouts, and pricing displays. Structured testing replaces guesswork with evidence-based decisions.

Lesson 4 • Reporting and Performance Dashboards

Builds executive and operational dashboards that surface actionable insights weekly. Dashboards connect marketing spend to revenue outcomes for stakeholder reporting.

Lesson 1 • Scaling Operations and Automation

Identifies manual processes suitable for automation in fulfillment, marketing, and customer service. Automation preserves margin as order volume grows.

Lesson 2 • Customer Retention and Loyalty Programs

Designs points-based, tiered, and subscription loyalty programs that increase repeat purchase rates. Retention is more cost-efficient than new customer acquisition.

Lesson 3 • Marketplace Expansion Strategy

Evaluates listing on third-party marketplaces alongside owned channels to increase reach. Marketplace presence accelerates customer acquisition at the cost of margin.

Lesson 4 • International and Cross-Border Commerce

Covers localization, cross-border tax obligations, currency display, and international shipping. Global expansion multiplies addressable market without proportional cost increases.