Undoubtedly, a majority of Web sites developed in the future will focus on e-commerce. Zona Research estimates that currently 44.1 million people in the US are online shoppers and an additional 37.5 million are expected to come online in the next twelve months. For e-commerce sites, content extends beyond marketing information, such as a brochures, product catalogs, documentation, or reports.
Transactions are probably at the heart of most e-commerce sites.
They include purchases, negotiations, order tracking, and other post-purchase functions. Although the steps are identical to that for designing informational sites, important differences exist. The most important being the attention paid to building and improving user trust and customer experience. Planning, for example, requires a clear understanding of the types of e-commerce users. The type of e-commerce initiative also influences the planning stage.