A software bug describes an error, flaw, mistake, or failure in a software system. A bug produces an incorrect or unexpected result, or causes software to behave in unintended ways. The existence of bugs is a natural component of any software. The probability of their existence grows in proportion to the complexity of the software.
An ecommerce system, with its many components, can become prone to numerous bugs, from cosmetic to the critical ones. This is especially true if the system was not developed properly.
Critical bugs that lead to a non-working ecommerce system, even temporarily, can have a significant impact on the site’s revenue, operations and customer satisfaction.
For an ecommerce site that has a significant volume of transactions, even seconds of inability to process transactions can have an immediate impact on sales. A system dragged down by a bug can also disrupt the normal operation of an ecommerce site and increase operating expense brought by support and troubleshooting activities.
While not all bugs are critical to the operation of an ecommerce system, they still affect the overall experience of the customer, which in turn can have an effect on their loyalty and satisfaction. After all, a customer’s desire to purchase your products diminishes if they’re having a hard time using your system because of bugs, no matter how small or trivial.
It is important that bugs are quickly resolved in an ecommerce system, and more importantly, the company should have a process or system in place to handle problems cause by bugs efficiently and effectively.