Steps

Steps in the webolution

The maturing of an e-commerce site:

Step 1 - Broadcast

The first step most organisations take into e-commerce is to set up a webpage to broadcast their message. This style of site is basically an electronic brochure or catalogue. The organisations products or services are promoted through browsers accessing the webpage. This type of site is stand alone and has no form of interactivity with the browser. The site is designed for the distribution of information one way.

Step 2 - Interactive

The interactive site is usually the next step in the webolution. This style of site begins the process of transactions across the internet. It may provide the ability to ask questions and receive advice over the internet. The type of site is designed to pass information both ways.

Step 3 - Transaction

This is the type of site that most people associate with ecommerce, it is where business transactions are conducted via the internet. The information transfer is bidirectional. This level of site usually has secure transactions such as credit payments or secure login facilities.

Step 4 - Integration

Integration is the most productivity effective step in the webolution, unfortunately it is also the most expensive. Studies have conclusively shown that in order to gain the full benefit of web technology it is essential to have backend integration into your accounting / inventory system. What this means is when a client accesses your site and places an order, the data entry is directly into your inventory system therefore alleviating multiple data entry and effectively updating your accounting system.

The web site must:

1. Serve as a commercial site to generate sales of a range of products and services.
   
   
2. Build company awareness, ie serve as an advertising and marketing tool for your business.
   
   
3. Serve as a channel of communication between your business, existing customers and potential customer.
   
   
4. Serve as a conduit for customer service and basic market research.
   
   
5. Use a database application for easy and immediate update.
   
   
6. Incorporate catalogue facilities within the database.
   
   
7. Include a search engine.
   
   
8. Make it easy for visitors to find what they are looking for in a very short period of time.
   
   
9. Navigation controls should be clearly labelled or be other wise recognisable.
   
   
10. Provide information to visitors or customers about how to contact the business.
    
    
11. Attracting visitors to the web site, sustaining visitor attention, and encouraging repeated visits, by making the site interesting enough so that visitors stay, explore and return.
    
    
12. The web site must not only present content and information. It must also be relevant, engaging and encourage interaction with your business.
    
    
13. Convincing visitors to follow the site's links to obtain information.
    
    
14. Offering easily accessible facts about the business.
    
    
15. Offering easily accessible information about products and services, and how to use and/or acquire them.
    
    
16. Converting visitors into customers.
    
    
17. Providing visitors with a meaningful, two-way communication link with the business.
    
    
18. Creating an impression consistent with the business's desired image.
    
    
19. Reinforcing positive images that the visitor might already have about the business.
    
    
20. Integrating the opportunity for enhancing the image of the business with the provision of information.
    
    
21. Design of consistency across pages in terms of layout/page composition, design features, theme and colour.
    
    
22. Registration of the web site with search engines and directories; as well as the inclusion of as many relevant meta-tags as possible.
    
    
23. Interaction with the ISP hosting the web site and obtaining web usage statistics.