Databases Reference
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developing and deploying a whole variety of web site aids. The most basic
of these aid tools includes the “Site Map” and “Search” functions. However
companies need to go beyond this and use this as an opportunity to build
a more interactive experience with the user through more web tools. Exam-
ples of such tools include - Banks providing mortgage calculators online
and Amazon automatically providing you with a list of topics that users
who bought the topic you are interested in also bought themselves.
Size of the Site
The size of a web site must be determined by various factors and issues
such as the business objective, the expected number of customers/the vol-
ume of traffic the web site is expected to generate, and the number of trans-
actions expected (if so designed). While deciding on the size of the web site
it is also important to evaluate the content of your web site and appropri-
ately size the servers and other hardware that is required to run the web
site. The overall systems infrastructure is crucial to the overall perfor-
mance of the web site. Due attention must also be paid to the bandwidth
needs of the web site and that an appropriate hosting solution chosen (e.g.
either in-house or through a specialized vendor).
Investment in Building the Site
Gone are the days when companies could quickly put up a couple of web
pages and claim to have become an e-business. The whole act of putting up
a quality web site requires a significant investment of time and money.
Companies are increasingly putting senior management in direct charge of
such activities in order to demonstrate their commitment to a strong prod-
uct. Companies also have to evaluate whether they already have the con-
tent required to build the web site or if it needs to be developed from
scratch. These are separate from the obvious costs involved in hiring pro-
grammers, building the infrastructure to host the site (or an agreement
with a web hosting service), software tools needed to build and power the
web site like web servers, security mechanisms (firewalls), and billing sys-
tems. In addition, companies will also need to invest in integrating the web
site with their existing back office systems to achieve true seamless busi-
ness integration.
Investment in Maintaining the Site
A static web site is a sign of a dead or stagnant business. Web sites need
to be constantly monitored, reviewed and updated with fresh content on a
regular basis. While the frequency of this varies based on the nature of the
site (ESPN may need to update it many times a day while FORD may only
revise it once a month) the need to plan for this and incorporate this into
the business process, as determined by the business objective, cannot be
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