Operation Manual

Adding Dynamic Content 281
Inserting an e-commerce object (PayPal)
The creation of e-commerce objects within WebPlus takes a Wizard-based
approach. An e-commerce object can be added to the web page as a form or
link (i.e., a simple button or any object's hyperlink) by completion of a series
of dialogs. Whether you choose to use forms or links depends on the
characteristics of the items you are planning to sell, and how you want to sell
your goods.
For example, if you are a trader wishing to sell a quantity of bricks you could
create an E-Commerce button (as a Buy Now link). This option would make
an assumption about the potential transaction, i.e. that all the bricks are the
same style/colour and that the buyer would wish to purchase a fixed amount.
This is because a link is only a button and cannot host any "interactive" buying
options that would be need for more complex purchases. One buyer's click
will buy a standard product offering—nothing more. Useful in some
situations but in others completely inadequate.
More complex purchases using E-Commerce Forms offer user interactivity
coupled with flexibility. If we take the brick trader as an example again, a form
can be used to host quantity and brick style/colour options so that the
customer has control and can get what he/she wants!
Here the web visitor has chosen to buy 2600 bricks of style "Clamp - Orange."
For e-commerce scenarios, where many items are to be offered for sale, it's
possible to store items for sale in a Serif database (SDB) specially structured
for use with e-commerce. By adding repeating forms (or areas) on your page,
the database items can be listed after database merging, and offered for sale.
See
Using database merge with e-commerce on p. 297.