Web sites have the luxury of devoting some screen real estate to branding treatments or to white space. But most B2B transactions, such as product ordering, are linear, so in order to create the right context for the user, that space must often be dedicated to application information, such as order processing details and buying history. Novell has handled this issue by inserting application information into templates that utilize customer ID information and context indicators but there are no branding messages. Branding treatment is handled only in the banner at the top of the page. This simplifies things for users and streamlines the process.
Corporations don t use commerce sites people do.
And whether or not you realize it, design has a major influence on functionality. As bandwidth restrictions ease, we will see sites becoming more adventurous and willing to go to greater lengths to be memorable, meaning a return to a richer visual environment. The sites of tomorrow will be more software-like in structure and more graphically elegant in feel.