This is the fifth part of our ongoing series of site-building resources. Today we’ll be focusing on design and usability resources.

• A List Apart – “A List Apart explores the design, development, and meaning of web content, with a special focus on web standards and best practices.”
• Boxes and Arrows – “Boxes and Arrows is devoted to the practice, innovation, and discussion of design; including graphic design, interaction design, information architecture and the design of business.”
• SEOmoz.org – “Read SEOmoz. Rank Better.” The article 17 New Rules for Successful E-Commerce Websites is a must-read.
• Smashing Magazine – “We smash you with the information that will make your life easier. Really.” Be sure to check out the article 30 Usability Issues To Be Aware Of while you’re there.
• Usability.gov – “Your guide for developing usable & useful Web sites” Be sure to check out Research-Based Web Design & Usability Guidelines while you’re there.
• useit.com – “usable information technology” Jakob Nielsen has been synonymous with website usability since the mid-1990s.
• UX Magazine – “UX Magazine sets out to explore, promote & discuss the multiple facets of user experience one article at a time. It is built upon the foundations of ProjectNeo, a global interactive design community.”

Please add any other related resources you’d like to recommend in the comments below.

Related Articles:

• Resource Links (Part 1) – Site-building Tools and HTML/CSS
• Resource Links (Part 2) – PHP and Javascript
• Resource Links (Part 3) – Statistics and Graphics/Design
• Resource Links (Part 4) – Business/Financial

On November 1st 2007 the Canadian dollar hit a new all time high against the US dollar – coming in at 1.0592 US dollars. You’ve probably also heard that the US dollar is at historic lows versus many other major currencies – most notably the British Pound, the Euro, and the Australian dollar.

From an e-commerce perspective, the low dollar presents an unprecedented opportunity for online merchants to venture into the international marketplace. US based sellers can offer a significant price advantage – often totaling more than 40% – over the local choices available to shoppers in Canada, the UK and most of Europe. This price advantage is maintained even when taking into account any extra shipping costs, taxes, duties, etc. a cross border sale may entail.

Continue reading…

Thank you to all of the participants of our new Affiliate Program Beta!

We’re expanding the beta program now, so if you’ve been waiting for the second round, now’s the time to apply.

UPDATE:

February 18, 2009:  All 2Checkout suppliers may now enroll in the Affiliate Program and are no longer required to apply to be enrolled. To enroll in the Affiliate Program, suppliers will first need to agree to the new Terms of Service and Operating regulations for the program. To review and agree to the new Terms of Service and Operating Regulations, suppliers will need to login to their account using the New Vendors Administration area and then click the Affiliates tab on the account home page. Suppliers will then be able read and agree to the new documentation.

To learn more about the Affiliate Program Beta, see these previous posts:

• Affiliate Program Limited Beta
• 2CO’s New Affiliate Program
• TUTORIAL: Adding Products to the Affiliate Program
• TUTORIAL: Finding Affiliate Opportunities

As part of our ongoing series of resources, we’re taking a break from technical resources to feature a couple business/financial resources.

• StorefrontBacktalk: Techniques, Tools and Tirades about Retail Technology and E-Commerce – StorefrontBacktalk has a free e-commerce and retail email newsletter, but also features a wealth of information in web-based articles like Know Your Enemy which is about three kinds of cyber thieves retailers should be aware of.
• Digital Transactions: Trends in the Electronic Exchange of Value – The online version of Digital Transactions is available only in Adobe Acrobat (PDF) format, so we can’t link directly to articles, but one good one this month’s issue is Preparing for the Post-Check Future which is about the trend of consumers moving to e-checks and other electronic payment methods. Digital Transactions’ subscriptions are free and available via direct download in Adobe Acrobat (PDF) format. They also provide weekly Web Transaction Performance Indexes.

Please add any other related resources you’d like to recommend to the comments.

Related Articles:

• Resource Links (Part 1) – Site-building Tools and HTML/CSS
• Resource Links (Part 2) – PHP and Javascript
• Resource Links (Part 3) – Statistics and Graphics/Design
• Resource Links (Part 5) – Design/Usability

The ability to control the demo parameter has been added to the 2Checkout system. You can now choose from the following 3 options inside of your 2Checkout account to control the use of the Demo parameter. Those choices are:

• On: Using this setting all sales will be treated as demo, regardless of any parameter value.
• Off: Using this setting all sales will be treated as live, regardless of any parameter value.
• Parameter: Using this setting a demo parameter sent to the purchase routine will control the demo setting.

This feature is located on the Site Management page in your account.  After you have logged in to your account you will first need to click the Account tab, and then click the Site Management sub tab on the Account page.

When using the Demo feature for testing purposes, please be certain to clear the cookies in your browser between tests to ensure the new account settings have been applied. For more information on clearing the cookies please click here.