B2C Websites

Before selecting a web hosting package, it is important to define clear objectives for your website.

Most organizations target their websites at existing and/or prospective customers.  Such websites are called Business-to-Consumer or B2C websites.

In addition to providing general information about the organization (e.g. name, location, mission, contact information), B2C websites often promote the company's products and services.  Simple brochure-type websites are inexpensive to build and only require basic web hosting functionality.

The information available on your website can include professionally designed PDF type glossy publications or basic web pages that describe the products and services that your organization sells.

More sophisticated B2C websites can include functionality to:

1. authenticate visitors (login ID and password)
2. display web pages using data from a database (e.g. products, prices)
3. store customer and order data in a database
4. provide online shopping cart functionality
5. accept credit card payments

Not only are these more sophisticated business websites much more expensive to develop and maintain, they also require more sophisticated web hosting services.

Businesses should develop an overall web development strategy based on evolutionary principals.  In other words, quickly implement a simple B2C website and evolve that site over a period of years.

Because it can take some time for a business website to become "visible" in search engines, it is important to launch your website early and establish your web presence.