Sorry this is off topic, but a lot of you are web gurus and could probably answer this in a second.
The question is whether or not a password is needed as part of the security for an online store selling a widget. Can an online store sell stuff over the web without requiring a password and user account for customers? ---- the details ---- Said widget is physical, so delivery may take some time, therefore customers may want to check on their order every few days. And there may be a problem with the order when it arrives, so a means of reporting order problems is needed. As far as I can tell, it should be possible to take someone's order online and provide a tracking number and that should be sufficient to get the job done. But a bunch of people are telling me the only way it can be done is if they ask for an email address as a username and a password to set up an account. Since I'm not a web-head, I don't know the underlying security involved, but I can't see how you have to set up an account to take an order. Does a password improve the overall security of the purchase process? For a one-time buyer, going to a website to purchase something, it seems like needless overhead to ask them to create an account, make up a password (and figure out a way to remember it), when they're only going to ever make one purchase. So, what is the expert verdict on this? Can it be done without a password/account? Or is the password/account overhead required for safe transactions online? Examples of big name websites that sell to customers without requiring an account woudl be useful supporting evidence for me to make my case. _______________________________________________ Boston-pm mailing list [email protected] http://mail.pm.org/mailman/listinfo/boston-pm
