I have never been convinced that there were compelling reasons to use any specific language over another. Specifically Ruby on Rails over PHP. RoR provides many great advantages relative to data-basing and prototyping that make it attractive to those looking to increase productivity. Would not becoming an expert in any language increase productivity? For the most part I believe that programmers should code in the language that they enjoy. This by default helps them become experts. My belief has always been predicated on the theory that the grass is not always greener on the other side. Your customers...

An article in “Practical Web Design” magazine from December of 2006 talks about the “Appropriateness of the product to the medium”. A graphic from that article has been recreated and placed here for reference. In general, the higher the cost of the purchase relative to the complexity of the checkout process will make your product much more difficult to sell online. Higher priced products with a more complex purchase process will enjoy its best conversion rates through a face-to-face sell (Real Estate and Automobiles) while lower priced products with an easy purchase process are much more...