It should be possible within a short space of time, and with a minimum of tweaking, to move the site from one host to another. This is important because it minimizes the site s switching costs . If it costs a lot to move the site, then it becomes vulnerable to price increases at the existing site. Portability should extend to site software as well. Where possible, data and HTML pages should be such that they could be served using alternative database software and server software.
Portability is opposed to functionality .
But functionality does not rule. Even though we could use Active Objects on a Microsoft server, we should not use them because they restrict our capacity to select alternative server software. Put at its simplest, the all aspects of the site should work on both Netscape and Internet Explorer. Interactivity While many commentators focus on the world wide web as an information medium, where the emphasis is on prepared content, one of the strengths of the internet is as a communications medium. As much as possible, MuniMall ought therefore to be interactive .