Another purpose for a web site as well is to create a positive Public Relations image. Some companies place information about not-for-profit and philanthropic causes they support on their websites. Individuals not only see what the company is doing but also may be able to volunteer for or donate money to a cause. At times these sites are separate from the company's primary site. In others, a link within the site is developed.

Preparing a Public Relations site may be used by a firm in order to react to bad publicity. This gives the firm the opportunity to refute a charge or to explain the company's side of the story.

As far as the E-commerce is concerned, many times a website is designed for E-commerce or selling goods on the Internet. E-commerce can take on many different forms. A retail store can vend items to consumers through the Internet when there is no handy outlet nearby or simply as a convenience for some shoppers.

E-commerce also can be a retail operation that sells entirely on the Internet without any physical store or even inventory. Services are offered, deals are mediated and products are shipped through this range of E-commerce operations. Instead of investigating all of the various forms of E-commerce, I'll just provide a short synopsis of why and how setting up an E-commerce site benefits an organization.

Individual businesses have approached E-commerce in various ways. At one extreme it is the business that jumped into E-commerce immediately, because the organization's leaders decided it was the trend of the future. These individuals concluded that the day would come when there would be no retail stores and everything would be purchased over the Internet or through an interactive television setup.

The other extreme includes those who decided that E-commerce is a fad that soon will pass away. These business leaders believe that consumers prefer dealing with people and therefore always will go to retail stores to make purchases. In reality, neither extreme seems very likely.

To the established retail operation, E-commerce offers customers an alternative mode for making purchases. Not every customer uses the Internet, but many do. As time passes, more people will become more comfortable with web site shopping. Without an E-commerce site, these customers are lost to other retail operations who have established online retail site.

Many times consumers make purchases at retail stores after first using the Internet to gather information. For example; a shopper may research stereos on the Internet and then go to the store with a list of - - finalists - -. Another person may get on the Internet and find a fishing rod with a special set of features. Using the Internet store locator, the individual identifies the closest store offering the product to make the actual purchase.

In that case, even though the customer did not make the purchase via E-commerce, he or she has used the Internet as part of the buying decision-making process. Consequently, the leaders of most established businesses know they must develop high quality E-commerce sites in order to remain competitive in the twenty-first century.