Microsoft .NET Server Solutions for the Enterprise

In order to maximize the chances of success, an enterprise-level retail Web site should be functional, convenient, and smart. The notion of a "functional" Web site covers several aspects of its operation. First, the Web site must possess the basic functionality that qualifies it as a retail Web site: presenting products (or services) for sale, and taking orders for those products. A functional Web site is also available close to 100 percent of the time, runs without encountering errors, and has good response times.

Retail Web sites can be convenient, or not, from several different perspectives. First, and arguably most important, is the customer perspective. Customers must be able to easily find the products of interest, manage their shopping carts, and check out when ready. Another important perspective from which convenience, or ease-of-use, is important concerns the day-to-day maintenance of the Web site. One of the defining features of a Web site is its dynamic nature, and the people tasked with keeping a Web site up-to-date can easily be overwhelmed. The original creation and occasional re-design of Web sites can also be an enormous task for Web site developers, who can benefit from ease-of-use features.

A retail Web site can be "smart" in a number of different ways. There is the artistic, or fashion, sense of smart, wherein the Web site is visually appealing and catchy. Smart can also mean clever. A Web site can be made clever in a number of ways that can enhance the success of the Web site. For example, a Web site can be designed so that it "remembers" a shopper from a prior visit, and learns something about that shopper's tastes. Also, specific advertisements can be shown so as to maximize the likelihood of appealing to the shopper viewing the ad.

In order to thoroughly understand the functionality that a successful retail Web site should strive to provide, let us consider the different experiences that are important to provide to the people in various roles related to the Web site: the shopper, the business manager, the Web site administrator, and the Web site developer.