But there is a dark cloud hovering over this sunny e-commerce landscape called poor web site design. Let's explore some of the reasons why consumers are not reaching for their credit cards after perusing an e-commerce web site. There is a huge knowledge gap about how the web is really driving online and offline commerce. Many consumers are using the web to effortlessly compare features and pricing, then calling the company or visiting their local retail store to make a purchase. Unfortunately, many firms have allocated a disproportionate amount of resources for advertising and not enough on good web site design and back-end infrastructure.
Many firms fail to properly integrate their e-commerce components with the overall site design.
They want the immediacy of the telephone. In many cases it just returns gobblygook. This is a real irritant for many online shoppers who want to find goods and services quickly and efficiently. The need for speed should be the e-commerce merchant's marketing mantra and a good search capability gives users a way to quickly find products. One of the most important parts of any web site is the home or index page, as it aggregates the design elements and information architecture.