PHP and MySQL Web Development 4th Ed-tqw-_darksiderg

328 Chapter 14 Running an E-commerce Site
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Provide services or digital goods
Add value to goods or services
Cut costs
Sections of many websites fit more than one of these categories.What follows is a
description of each category and the usual way of making each generate revenue or
other benefits for your organization.
The goal of this part of the book is to help you formulate your goals.Why do you
want a website? How is each feature built in to your website going to contribute to your
business?
Publishing Information Using Online Brochures
Nearly every commercial website in the early 1990s was simply an online brochure or
sales tool.This type of site is still the most common form of commercial website. Either
as an initial foray onto the Web or as a low-cost advertising exercise, this type of site
makes sense for many businesses.
A brochureware site can be anything from a business card rendered as a web page to an
extensive collection of marketing information. In any case, the purpose of the site, and its
financial reason for existing, is to entice customers to make contact with your business.
This type of site does not generate any income directly but can add to the revenue your
business receives via traditional means.
Developing a site like this presents few technical challenges.The issues faced are similar
to those in other marketing exercises. A few of the more common pitfalls with this
type of site include
n Failing to provide important information
n Poor presentation
n Failing to answer feedback generated by the site
n Allowing the site to age
n Failing to track the success of the site
Failing to Provide Important Information
What are visitors likely to be seeking when they visit your site? Depending on how
much they already know, they might want detailed product specifications, or they might
just want very basic information such as contact details.
Many websites provide no useful information, or they miss crucial information. At the
very least, your site needs to tell visitors what you do, what geographical areas your business
services, and how to make contact.