The document summarizes a project for FirstPlace Software to develop and maintain an online system called Webposition.com from 1998 to 2000. The system tracks website rankings and allows online purchase and affiliate sales of an application to monitor rankings. It relies on cookies and encrypted text files rather than databases to track users through the purchase process along different paths depending on their referral information and options. Code Gurus developed the application and support tools while FirstPlace handled design.

1. Project Title: Webposition.com
Period: March 1998 through March 2000. Continuing support.
Client: FirstPlace Software, Inc.
Complexity: 40 Perl scripts, 1500 lines.
Technology: Apache Web Server
Perl 5.0
Summary: FirstPlace Software, Inc. sells an application for monitoring and
managing a customers website ranking on major search engines.
Code Gurus originally developed the application in 1996 and
maintained it through 1998. The application is still being
maintained. A website was built to provide on-line sales of the
application as well as track downloads of the free sample version
and track affiliate sales. Through the affiliate system third party
websites that send customers to the Webposition.com site get a
portion of the sales from that customer. It is a very successful
system for marketing, but it requires careful management of
referring information.
The on-line system for tracking sales relies heavily on cookies
and other tokens that are given to the customer when they first
download a trial version in order to track them to the final sale.
The system doesn’t use any databases, instead it saves the data to
a variety of encrypted text files that are downloaded periodically
to the FirstPlace network through an automated process.
Many of the pages that are generated through the system are built
from templates and customized for each user. The checkout
process has a number of different paths depending on the
customers referral information, the options that they chose to
purchase and how they plan on paying.
Code Gurus was the sole developer for the application and
support tools. Graphical design was performed by FirstPlace’s
designers.
URLs: http://www.webposition.com/
Reference: Brent Winters
407-240-5114
brent@firstplacesoftware.com

2. Figure 1 - Front Page
Figure 2 - Trial Download Page

3. Figure 3 - Purchase Page (Partial)
Figure 4 - Error Page