Microsoft .NET Server Solutions for the Enterprise

Web Site Support for Improvements

Because improvements to the retail Web site almost always involve changes to the Web site itself, it is only possible to make a very general statement about how support for improvements is or is not designed into a particular implementation. Web site implementations that are modular and well-designed, as are the Commerce Server 2000 Retail Solution Site and the Commerce Server 2002 .NET Sample Site, are generally be less difficult to improve than Web site implementations that are not as modular or well-designed.

For example, the Retail Solution Site code includes a folder called "template" that contains a number of ASP files that are used to define the layout of the pages in the site. If an envisioned improvement concerned page layout, the design of this site is such that it is quite straightforward to change the layout of the pages in the site, or some subset of those pages.

The International Retail Site, available in the Commerce Server 2002 SDK, is designed in a modular way using ASP.NET controls and classes, providing an environment that should be trouble-free to modify and extend as improvements are devised and implemented.