A critical component of business today is the ability to maintain an engaging, efficient, and functional online presence. Continuing Education is offering an E-Commerce Certificate, designed for individuals who wish to enhance their knowledge and gain practical skills to grow their own online business, or incorporate digital strategies into an organization.

The certificate comprises three courses: Digital Marketing, Website Tools for Online Sales, and E-Commerce Business Strategy. Each is taught by an industry professional with years of experience and extensive knowledge of the material. Participants can take all three courses to earn the certificate or take them individually. Classes are all online and open for registration.

Digital Marketing is taught by UWindsor alumna Adiela Aviram (BA 2009), who has orchestrated and delivered strategies over the past 12 years for North America’s leading brands to acquire and nurture their best customers. This course will teach participants how to formulate a sales-driving plan, utilize digital marketing channels, interpret marketing data through web analytics, and more. It will also cover e-mail and content marketing, display and video marketing, search engine marketing (SEM) and optimization (SEO), and social media.

As a senior manager in Deloitte Digital’s advertising, marketing, and e-commerce offering, Aviram can provide participants with the most relevant and up-to-date best practices. The way modern businesses conduct marketing has changed rapidly over the last decade, Aviram says: “We’re now at a point, as marketers, where we can’t separate the strategy from the technology.”

Classes are 6 to 9 p.m. Thursdays, starting May 19.

Website Tools for Online Sales, taught by Navneet Chhajer (BCS 2003, BSc 2004), covers a number of key topics that will provide students with the skills necessary to design and manage an e-commerce website. Chhajer is an accomplished marketing executive, currently leading Toronto operations for Labelium as the managing director.

He illustrates the value of this course by stating “In today’s day and age, running a business is almost 100 per cent of the time related to being able to transact online.”

This course offers not-to-be missed content, such as learning to use basic HTML5, CSS3, and JavaScript programming, investigating web-development platforms like Shopify and Wix, and best practices for optimizing website performance. Acquiring these skills can make the difference between a business that merely exists in an online world, and a business that thrives in one.

Classes are 6 to 9 p.m. Thursdays, starting Aug. 11.

Starting this fall is the E-Commerce Business Strategy course, which explores how to create and operate an e-commerce site, whether as an addition to an existing business or a new venture. The course will provide participants with an in-depth understanding of the different models, how to formulate the value proposition for an idea, and how to create a high-level e-commerce business plan.

Instructor Steven Javor is an accomplished leader in e-commerce and is a pioneer of digital customer experience and e-marketing strategies.

“You may be deep in one area of your knowledge, maybe you’re deep in marketing, maybe you’re deep in sales, maybe you’re deep in the technology side, but really to succeed in e-commerce, you have to understand how all of these pieces fit together,” he says. “The experience doesn't end.”

For those who want to improve their ability to conduct business in a digital world, Javor’s course is the right place to start. Participants will be able to build a top-line business plan and take away useful information they can apply daily in their careers.

Classes are 6 to 9 p.m. Thursdays, starting Sept. 22.

To learn more, watch a recording of the info session on the Continuing Education website to hear from all three e-commerce instructors.

E-commerce courses are eligible for OSAP Micro-credential Application.

UWindsor alumni, staff and students are all eligible for a discount on individual courses. Email continue@uwindsor.ca to receive the discount code.

—Moneeza Sami