Information Technology Reference
In-Depth Information
Cultural Challenges
Countries and regional areas have their own cultures and customs that can significantly
affect people and organizations involved in global trade. A Web site must be designed carefully
if it will be viewed by different cultural groups outside or within a country. Great care must
be taken to ensure that the site is appealing, easy to use, and inoffensive to people around
the world.
Language Challenges
Obviously, language differences can make it difficult for visitors to understand the informa-
tion and directions posted on a Web site. Thus, many Web sites add an entrance page that
lets visitors select a language for viewing the Web site. Sometimes, it is not enough to have
multilingual versions of the text; a complete redesign may be called for. For example, if
your Web site design includes a vertical menu bar, you may place it in the left margin of
your pages for English visitors but on the right for Arabic visitors who start reading pages
from right to left. In addition, measurement conversions for quantities used in recipes, dis-
tances, and temperatures are necessary. U.S. measurements such as cups, miles, and degrees
Fahrenheit must be converted to liters, kilometers, and degrees Celsius.
Time and Distance Challenges
Time and distance issues can be barriers for people and organizations involved with global
trade in remote locations. Significant time differences make it difficult for customers to speak
directly with salespeople or customer service representatives in other locations unless your
business schedules staff to work around the clock. Because of the great distances involved, it
can take days for customers to receive a product, a critical part, or a piece of equipment. For
this reason, many Web sites provide customers with a means to track the shipment progress
of their order via a connection to the shipper's order tracking system.
Infrastructure Challenges
The Web site must be displayed correctly in all the major Web browsers including Internet
Explorer, Firefox, Safari, Opera, Netscape, Mozilla, and others. If it does not, visitors will
quickly switch to competitors' Web sites. The Web site must also support access from laptops,
PDAs, cell phones, and other devices.
Currency Challenges
Prices for all items offered for sale on the Web site must clearly indicate the currency. If the
Web site is to support sales to multiple countries, it must indicate whether other currencies
are acceptable and provide an easy means for customers to convert from their currency to the
currency in which the price is quoted.
Product and Service Challenges
E-products such as software, music, and books and e-services such as customer support and
advice can be delivered to customers electronically over the Internet. The Web site must
operate reliably to allow fast, consistent delivery of such products and services.
State, Regional, and National Laws
Every state, region, and country has a set of laws that governs commercial transactions. These
laws cover a variety of issues, including the protection of trademarks and patents, the sale of
copyrighted material, the collection and safeguarding of personal or financial data, the
payment of sales taxes and fees, and much more. Keeping track of these laws and incorpo-
rating them into the operation of a global Web site is extremely complex and time consuming,
requiring expert legal advice.
