E-commerce Glossary - C

Cache

Pronounced cash, a special high-speed storage mechanism. It can be either a reserved section of main memory or an independent high-speed storage device.

Campaign

A marketing term referring to a distinct marketing activity, such as direct mail, banner ads, pay-per-click ads, etc.

Capture

The submission of a credit card transaction for processing and settlement. POS terminals and real-time processing software capture transactions to submit to merchant account providers or credit card processors.

Card Not Present (Merchant Account)

An account that allows e-commerce merchants to process credit cards without a face to face transaction with the purchaser.

Cardholder

A person or company who has an active credit card account with which transactions can be processed.

Cascading Style Sheets (CSS)

A method used to attach styles such as specific fonts, colors, and spacing to HTML documents. Because they "cascade," some elements take precedence over others.

Catalog Page

A special ASP page that contains graphic images (product) and allows product ordering and placement of orders into a shopping cart.

Certificates - Secure of Digital

Issued by a Certificate Authority (such as GeoTrust, Thawte or Verisign), a SSL Secure Certificate (also known as a Digital Certificate) is proof that a Web site is linked to a legitimate business, with a physical address and phone number. It is the job of the Certificate Authority to verify the identity of merchants and issue each a digital or authentication certificate.

Certificate Authority

A third party company that issues digital certificates that confirms a company or individuals' identification. A digital certificate is a crucial part of secure e-commerce.

CFR (cost & freight)

Indicates that a quoted price includes the cost of the goods and transportation charges but not of insurance.

CGI (common gateway interface)

A way of interfacing e-commerce computer programs with HTTP or Web servers, so that a server can offer interactive sites instead of just static text and images.

CGI Script

A program that is run on a Web server, in response to input from a browser. The CGI script is the link between the server and a program running on the system; for example, a database. E-commerce CGI scripts are used with interactive forms.

Chargeback

A chargeback occurs when a card holder disputes a credit card transaction with his or her credit card issuer. The card issuer initiates a chargeback against the merchant account applicant. The amount of the disputed transaction is immediately withdrawn from the merchant's bank account, and the merchant has 10 days in which to dispute the chargeback with proof of purchase, signature, proof of delivery, etc. A chargeback fee is usually assessed to the merchant on top of the actual transaction. See also retrieval request.

CIF (cost, insurance & freight)

A term indicating that a quoted price includes the cost of the goods, insurance, and transportation charges.

Cisco

One of the leading manufacturers of network equipment. Cisco"s primary e-commerce business is in Internet working products, such as routers, bridges, and switches.

Click-through Rate

In web advertising, the click through rate is the number of clicks on an advertisement (such as a banner ad) is expressed as a percentage of the number of times that the page where the ad appears was downloaded. Thus, the click through rate would be 10% if one in ten people who viewed the advertisement clicked on it, and landed on the advertisers" e-commerce site.

Client

The computer in a client/server architecture that requests files or services. The computer that provides services is called the server. The most common types of client on the Internet are computers running browsers or e-mail programs. The client may request file transfer, remote logins, printing, or other available services. The client also means the e-commerce software that makes the connection possible.

Client Server Architecture

A network architecture in which each computer or process on the network is either a client or a server. Servers are powerful computers dedicated to managing disk drives (file servers), printers (print servers), or network traffic (network servers). Clients are PCs or workstations on which users run applications. Clients rely on servers for resources, such as files, devices, and even processing power.

Co-Branding

Where two companies identify a partnership between them through one company displaying their logos, color schemes, etc, on another companies application.

Co-located Server

Some companies own a server, but want to locate it in the secure environment of a e-commerce web hosting provider. That way they can take advantage of the fastest possible connections to the Internet while handing over day-to-day management of the site.

COM

When these letters appear in lowercase type at the end of an address, they indicate that the host computer is run by a company rather than a university or government agency. It also means that the host computer is most likely located in the United States.

Commerce

The activities and practices related to trade and barter systems, including e-commerce.

Commerce Server

A Web server that contains the software necessary for processing customer orders via the Web, including shopping cart programs, dynamic inventory databases, and online payment systems. Commerce servers are usually also secure e-commerce servers.

Concept Portal

An Internet structure designed to allow users to find sites and portals related to basic human related areas of interest. Allows all market centric portals to link their sites providing them an assured means of access so users can review their services.

Connectivity

A computer buzzword that refers to a program or device"s ability to link with other programs and devices.

Consumer

Purchaser of products and/or services to obtain utility.

Consumer Choice

Ideology currently being held responsible for determining the value of Internet endeavors lost in the WWW. Majority of Internet consumers remain on the lower end of the learning curve and behind the supplier market on the WWW.

Control Panel

The Control Panel is an on-line interface, that allows users to change and update their Websites or storefronts.

Cookies

Small files that are automatically downloaded from a Web server to the computer of someone browsing a Web site. Information stored in cookies can then be accessed any time that computer returns to the site. Cookies allow Web sites to "personalize" their appearance by identifying visitors, storing passwords, tracking preferences, and other possibilities.

CPU

Acronym for Central Processing Unit, the processor, such as a Pentium or RISC, used to make a computer work. Often referred to as the main cabinet or tower of a PC.

Crawler

A program that is sent out by search engines or directories that returns information about a site content for inclusion into search engine databases. Also referred to as spiders and scrubbers.

Credit Card

A bank card establishing the privilege of the person to whom it is issued to present it as payment to a merchant; the card bearer must reimburse the credit card company the amount of the sale. Credit card and e-commerce transactions are usually not profitable for amounts of less than $5 ( U.S.); micropayment schemes are designed for much smaller increments of payment.

Credit card processors (third-party processors)

Merchant services providers that handle the details of processing credit card transactions between merchants, issuing banks, and merchant account providers. Web site operators usually must first establish their own merchant account before contracting for credit card processing services.

Cross Promotion

The promotion of a website through other traditional forms of advertising such as magazines, newspapers, radio, TV, billboards, etc.

CRM (customer relationship management)

The entire process of a pre-sales, sales and service relationship with a customer. Many software applications are now available that permit you to record this relationship from the time the clients asks their first question. Good e-commerce CRM software is much more efficient than fragmented records as it can save time in tracking communications and transactions with a particular person

CXML (commerce XML)

A new set of document type definitions (DTD) for the XML specification. cXML works as a meta-language that defines necessary information about a product. It will be used to standardize the exchange of catalog content and to define request/response processes for secure electronic transactions over the Internet. The processes includes purchase orders, change orders, acknowledgments, status updates, ship notifications, and payment transactions.