E S T A B L I S H I N G A W E B SITE:

S O M E M A N A G E R I A L ISSUES

Merrill E. Warkentin Lutfus Sayeed

Northeastern University West Virginia University
Abstract
A recent survey of companies who have a Web presence indicate
The World Wide Web may become an important business tool to that 30% are currently using it for internal communications, 49%
thousands of finns this year as it grows in size and capabilities. for external communications, 8% for advertising, and 5% for
Many other finns wish to enter the age of cyberbusiness, but are selling products. [2] Are companies using the WWW to their
unsure how to proceed. This paper addresses managerial and advantage? Although a large number of Web pages are little
technical considerations when initiating a WWW project, with a more than digital "vanity plates" on the Information
focus on issues related to cost and control considerations, Superhighway--simply high-tech advertisements-many creative
technical factors, security, web page design guidelines, Web developers have found ways to exploit market
standards, and trademark. This paper may serve as a guide to opportunities.
managers who choose to set up shop along the information
superhighway. By incorporating an electronic mail feature on its Home Page, a
company can improve its communication efforts. Through a Web
Keywords: World Wide Web, WWW, web server, intemet page, the user can send an electronic mail just by clicking on an
security, digital commerce icon. This allows the company to improve external
communication with customers, suppliers, distributors,
The World Wide Web government agencies, the academic community, researchers, and
competitors -- any potential WWW user. Similarly, the WWW
Industry analysts predict a $4.5 billion Internet market by the electronic mail feature can also facilitate internal communication
year 2000. [5] The World Wide Web (WWW), the Intemet's within the company.
technology for linking documents and computer servers around
the globe, is growing exponentially, with thousands of new sites Many companies are using the Web to establish themselves
accessible each day. Although the Web's hypertext information globally. A WWW presence enhances a firm's globalization
retrieval technology was originally developed in the late 1980's, efforts by facilitating cominunication with foreign suppliers,
[7] its capability was not widely used until the advent of user- distributors, and customers. The Web can also allow the firm to
friendly graphical "Web browsers," such as Mosaic, Netscape, conduct worldwide advertising and find new international
and Cello. The Web now connects thousands of computer customers. Through a Home Page, a provincial firm may bring a
networks and millions of "Web surfers" who access it to conduct global edge to its business. The WWW user is not acutely aware
business and to retrieve educational, recreational, and other of national boundaries while using the Web; the physical location
information. With Web pages, companies can create of websites is usually unknown. Because a Home Page provides
presentations which incorporate images, sound, video and access to an international audience, geographically isolated
hyperlinks, and reach millions of people all over the world with companies can level the playing field and compete in markets
the click of a mouse. As the World Wide Web continues to that were inaccessible to them in the past.
expand rapidly, several economic, organizational, legal, and
other issues have confronted the MIS manager. The WWW presence may be a useful tool for gaining and
maintaining competitive advantage. Using Web search tools, a
Why Should A Firm Consider a Web Presence? firm can seek answers to questions about the marketplace, the
regulatory environment, or the activities of competitor. What
Initially, a firm must determine whether there are business relevant information about the competitors is available on the
opportunities in establishing a web site. What are the strategic Web? Through the Web presence, companies can also monitor
and operational advantages of having a web presence? A WWW emerging technologies and market reactions to these
presence can enhance a firm's internal and external technologies.
communication, globalization efforts, competitive advantage,
collaboration efforts, information disseminating activities, Through a Web presence, firms may collaborate on projects of
marketing and sales programs, data transfer capabilities, and mutual interest. In today's marketplace, it is quite common for
corporate presence. [3] A Home Page on the World Wide Web businesses to participate in joint ventures with other companies.
provides a corporate presence that is increasingly important in However, seeking out the right partner for a product development
today's marketplace. project may be a difficult task. A Home Page can advertise the

ACM SIGICE Bulletin 14 Volume 21, Number 2, October 1995

 Establishing a Web Site: Some Managerial Issues

projects where the firm is in need of such partnerships. A firm's servers, software, high-speed link, and personnel, is between $60
information distribution capabilities can be increased through the and $120 thousand.
Web presence. Product manuals, training aids, and software
tools can be provided to the customers or employees through the As an alternative to setting up its own Web server, a company
Web page. may arrange with a third party to provide these services. A
business may choose between two types of services from an
Customer support is another area where the WWW presence can Internet Service Provider (ISP): 1) the company may subscribe to
be very useful for a firm. Customer support information can be a Serial Line Internet Protocol/Point-to-point Protocol
posted on a Home Page and periodically updated. Customers can (SLIP/PPP) account, or 2) rent a portion of the dedicated line
conveniently access this information on their own schedule. In a from the service provider. Both of these choices allow
highly competitive marketplace, such sales and marketing efforts subscribers to have their own domain names. SLIP/PPP allows
can produce greater customer satisfaction. for direct File Transfer Protocol (FTP) and use of the Mosaic or
Netscape user interface software. SLIP/PPP is a dial-up service,
A Web presence can also facilitate a company's data transfer as opposed to a dedicated service, that uses normal phone lines
operations. Financial, publishing and medical institutions are and special software. Users of the subscriber company's LAN
already using the Web for exchanging information and files. can connect to the WWW through this type of arrangement. The
Since the Internet protocols allow transmission of both text and start-up costs for SLIP/PPP include a 486 PC or Macintosh
binary files, Web users can easily access such data through a Quadra (minimum), and a high speed modem (14,400
company's Home Page. One large Boston law firm has minimum). The monthly charge for this arrangement is
established a procedure for exchanging legal documents with its approximately $250 for a SL~/PPP account. However, to handle
European clients over the WWW. the traffic that many companies will experience, an ISDN line is
recommended for larger companies who can afford to install such
Through their Web pages, companies are establishing interactive lines at their office building or complex. Cost, control, and
relationships with distributors and customers. Customers are flexibility dominate this decision. Forrester Research Inc. report
providing rapid feedback and reaction on new product ideas over that the first-year costs for a company using a third party
the Web. Easy registration of software and other products is provider are estimated to be $5,000 to $10,000.
being facilitated by the WWW, as is conference registration,
course scheduling, and other forms-oriented activities. Software Besides cost considerations, a firm must assess what range of
companies are also routinely offering upgrades or software services must be subscribed from the ISP. Issues to consider
patches over the Web, often at anonymous FTP sites. Other include: does the ISP have any restrictions regarding use by
companies are fmding that the Web is a good way to businesses? In addition to WWW, Mosaic, Lynx, or Netscape,
communicate news, updates, and bugs reports dffectly to what other type of services must the ISP provide (E-mail, Telnet,
customers at a very low cost. The Web can also ensure that FTP, Usenet, Gopher, company node)? Will the service be
certain firms maintain their high-tech image. provided through the company's LAN? What kind of operating
system will be required on the LAN server as a result of the
Web Server Decisions service? What speed modems will be required? How many
modems will be required? Does the ISP offer all the services the
Once an organization has decided to establish a presence on the subscriber needs'? Does the ISP have a reliable history? How
Web, a number of decisions must be made. The first is whether easy is the use of the software provided by the ISP for WWW
to purchase and operate a Web server or to arrange with a third connections? What is the speed of connection required by the
party to provide Web services. Many firms have entered the company? What will be the magnitude of long distance charges?
Web server business, providing services from minimal Web Who is the most cost effective ISP? A business seeking a WWW
server disk space to complete turnkey systems which include presence must consider these issues before deciding on an ISP.
Web page design and maintenance. In such a case, the
company's computer becomes a WWW server by using There is a relatively large choice of ISPs. These are a group of
dedicated lines to set up their own server and provide access to fast growing Internet and WWW businesses. The WWW and the
the Web to an almost unlimited number of users. The dedicated Internet is the best resource for information on these companies.
lines can be 56K]3, Tl(1.54MB), or T3(45MB) capacity lines. In addition to the ISPs, the large online providers (CompuServe,
The start-up costs of high speed dedicated lines are considerable AOL, and Prodigy) are now also offering Web server services to
as the connection requires a fairly sophisticated micro or mini their customers at various levels. A list of ISPs and other
computer and large disk arrays, a router that may cost $10,000 to commercial services rel~rence is maintained at
$15,000, installation and maintenance of the dedicated lines, and http://www.directory.net/.
monthly charges for the leased line and personnel costs.
Personnel costs can be substantial for this type connectivity.
Forrester Research Inc. of Cambridge, MA estimates that the
first-year costs of setting up your own web site, including

A C M S I G I C E Bulletin 15 Volume 21, Number 2, October 1995

M. Warkentin and L. Sayeed

Security on the Web Society reports that there are more than 27,000 registered
columercial domains -- those with addresses that end in the
Those who wish to conduct transactions electronically are now .COM extension. A 1995 poll indicated that while only 8% of
able to do so, but not without some major concerns about the companies have established a Web page, 33% are planning to do
security and privacy of financial and other personal intbnnation so and 35% plan to use the Net to sell products directly to the
that may be accessed by others. The Computer Emergency public.
Response Team, an organization that monitors computer security,
has esthnated that reported security breaches rose more than 700 Several companies have initiated digital commerce networks
percent from 1990 to 1993 and doubled in 1994 alone. [6] In accessible over the World Wide Web. Public-key cryptography
addition, experts fear that numerous computer break-ins do not allows customers to electronically authorize or sign electronic
get reported because of company fears that the public will learn documents and then secures and wires those documents to the
about their security lapses, perhaps increasing their risk of future vendor. Companies such as CommerceNet and DigiCash have
break-ins. [1] developed security systems using this technology to capitalize on
the fast-growing electronic commerce industry. The first Internet
The introduction of firewalls by the computer security industry is electronic credit card transaction took place less than one year
a recent development that provides companies with some hope ago and businesses and customers may now conduct transactions
that their systems may be free from criminal activity. A firewall through various forms of electronic payment.
essentially controls or limits the passage of intbrmation between CommunityCommerce will be the Internet's first bank-sponsored
the global Internet and the organization's private network electronic marketplace. This wilt be a virtual mall with various
through a router or gateway connection. Three types of firewall tenants and electronic banking services offered by First Union
devices presently exist. Packet-filtering firewalls and circuit- Corp. of Charlotte, North Carolina. CommunityConnnerce
level firewalls are the more basic types, with each providing low- makes transactions secure by encrypting credit card numbers
level security. Application-level firewalls, at a cost of between before they are used over the Internet.
$30,000-$60,000, provide a considerably more advanced buffer.
Installation and configuration may increase these costs, but A promising development in the field of digital commerce is
businesses with knowledge of this technology may perform these electronic money or E-cash. E-cash moves along channels
functions themselves. [ 1] largely outside the network of banks, checks, and paper currency
monitored by the Federal Reserve Bank. [9] The advantage of E-
Once businesses allow messages to go past the firewall, the cash is the speed of transactions. Companies developing
security problem is not over. The messages must still be electronic money include Mondex, DigiCash, CyberCash,
authenticated. Is the sender of the message genuine'? Has the Microsoft, Xerox, and Visa. The technology involved in E-cash
message been corrupted en route? Cryptography and access will include a plastic card with an embedded microchip. Specific
cards are used for such authentication purposes. [8] quantities of E-cash will be purchased with traditional currency.
Cryptography is application of mathematical algorithms to create The users will also be able to store electronic money, from banks
digital signatures. The digital signatures can be used to verity and other issuers of E-cash, on the computer or a device called an
the authenticity of the message. In some security systems, electronic "wallet." There are several advantages of using E-
authorized users are issued access cards that fit into a computer's cash. Nonbank consumers will find it more convenient and
PCMCIA slot. Some access cards generate a random code every flexible than traditional money. For banks, the processing cost
sixty seconds. The system requires users to present the latest of E-cash may be less expensive than processing checks and
access code to gain entry. paper documents that accompany traditional currency. Also, E-
cash will provide more privacy than credit cards for consumers
For applications beyond simple advertising, the concern over doing business on the WWW.
security grows even larger. The emerging secure internet
protocols for the WWW include SSL (Secure Sockets Layer), However, the development of E-cash may lead to some
which provides security for all Internet application protocols, and undesirable consequences. The E-cash system may grow
Secure-HTTP, which provides for HTTP alone. Both use unconstrained and undermine government's control of the
encryption technology. If a firm waits, however, the decision monetary system. Further, the security of E-cash stored on a
may be simplified by a reported combination of the two computer may be questionable since the possibility of a crash
standards. If the security issue is resolved, many companies are always exists. Also, the lack of universal access to E-cash may
poised to begin full-scale digital commercial activities over the exacerbate the gulf between rich and poor in our society. Those
WWW. without computers will not have access to E-cash. Money
latmdering may also be a problem with E-cash. Finally,
Digital Commerce computer break-ins and counterfeiting pose serious security
issues that need to be addressed before E-cash becomes a viable
Many Fortune 500 companies now have their own Web presence. means of transaction on the Web.
Some have sophisticated designs with innovative services, while
others are simply colorful advertisements. In thct, the Internet

A C M S I G I C E Bulletin 16 Volume 21, Number 2, October 1995

 Establishing a Web Site: Some Managerial Issues

Planning and Designing your Web Pages services. Tile third approach is the Brochure approach where
the emphasis is on providing information to the user With
Before designing web pages, the smart webmaster will identify minimal advertising of products and services. The fourth
the target audience and identil~¢ the planned content of the web strategy is the Virttml Storefront that combines the previous
pages. The audience will affect the links you choose and tile three strategies. It is designed to include the marketing of the
style of your presentation. Pages designed for a general business firm's services and products, online sales, customer services, and
audience will be written for the least common denominator, as more.
compared to web page targeted to a specific, well-known
audience. Specific personal audiences require yet another Just one of the many technical questions that must be addressed
approach. Carefully decide how formal or familiar your tone will is that of determining which standard, if any, you choose to
be. Then begin to plan the logic and content of your pages. This enforce for your development language. There are now multiple
vast network of somethnes impatient users requires concise versions of HTML, the Hypertext Transfer Markup Language
organization and clarity fi'om its web authors. The Webmaster used for writing Web pages. Newer versions provide more
who delays a websurfer with extraneous graphics and poor URL- functionality, but at a cost of compatibility with older client
linking logic will probably lose his audience. Always identify software; users with older Web browsers may not be able to view
the more direct and concise method of conveying your ideas. your fancy new pages! Adobe's Acrobat and Microsoft's new
Blackbird may offer a serious challenge to the supremacy of
The planning effort should follow a top-down approach by HTML for creating Web pages. Compatibility, support, and
focusing first on the "big picture," followed by design iterations stability dominate this question.
wlfich provide greater and greater specificity as the designer
moves from a concept to a logical design to an actual physical If HTML is chosen as the language for development, there are
plan for the pages. The entire group of I-1TML files should be many choices tbr the actual editing of HTML files. Graphical
storyboarded with a clear view toward the logic of the links from editors can be found for UNIX, Intel (Windows), and Macintosh
the empathetic perspective of a potential cybersurfer. In platforms. Some are standalone software packages with links to
addition, each page's storyboard should be developed in a similar tile client Web browser for previewing the results of a file
top-down fashion, with successive iterations furnishing more design. (See, for example, HTML Writer at
detailed designs. Finally, the specific content of each page must http://lal.cs.byu.edu/people/nosack/) Others are designed to be
be determined. One particular challenge is the need to balance add-in products to popular word processors, such as Microsofl's
eye-catching graphics (and attention-grabbing video and sound, "Internet Assistant," an add-in for Microsoft Word for Windows
for that matter) with good performance. Users without a high- 6.0 (available for free from their anonymous FTP site).
bandwidth data path to the Web may abandon your site rather
than wait for large files to transfer. Good design always includes Other Considerations
modularity; you should separate conceptual elements into
separate files. You may also choose to provide text-only versions Betbre relying on the Web to "reach out and touch" tile buying
of important reference material for maximum performance or for public, you should conduct basic market research -- is the
users who use Lynx or other nongraphical Web browsers. Internet audience the audience you want to reach? For example,
a recent poll indicated that only 5% of Internet users were female
Beyond the stylistic graphics-rich Web pages, the most important and only 21% were over 35! Another decision is one of basic
Web design questions probably revolve around content. You access for your employees. Many companies, believing that the
have to have something to say if you plan to publish! Unlike Internet and the WWW offer their employees a powerful research
traditional media, your audience is not a captive one; they can tool, are providing unlimited access. This may not be a wise
click away from you as quick as they clicked to get to you. They choice. Web surfing has become, for some, an addictive activity
probably accessed your page because of an interest in your due to the visual appeal and ease of navigation. Ninety-five
company's products or services; now you must deliver that percent of the respondents to a recent Information Week "Fax
information in an engaging way. Vote" [4] assume that snbordinates use tile Net for non-work
activities. In fact, they believe that 32% of their staff spends
Ellsworth and Ellsworth suggest four common strategies for over an hour per day on non-work online activitiesT Policies
Home Page design. [3] The design strategy must be compatible which prevent any access to the Net may eliminate the
with business goals, marketing plans for the WWW, and the productive online activities along with the wasteful ones. Some
level of market penetration the firm aims to achieve. The first is finns have initiated education and discussion on the issue,
the Billboard strategy that is concerned with placing "come-on" blocking certain services, and even monitoring of their
kinds of information. The objective is to place markers on the employees. Some firms choose not to capture messages from
Home Page that will provide connections to locations where many of the newsgroups which they deem inappropriate.
more complete information is available. The second strategy is
the Yellow Page approach that is a menu pointing toward other Another issue to address is that of determining whether or not to
sources. A firm can advertise its name at the top of the menu establish a company-wide Web page design standard. Image is an
and some of the menu options can advertise its products and important strategic asset for many companies. Most companies

A C M S I G I C E Bulletin 17 Volume 21, Number 2, October 1995

M. W a r k e n t i n a n d L. S a y e e d

use standard letterheads, logos, and colors in their official The WWW is in a state of flux. This changing environment
publications, but they have not yet focused on tiffs form of requires adopting a flexible approach to conducting business on
electronic publishing. A related question regards the use of the Web. The best way to stay flexible is to stay connected to the
corporate trademarks. A legal trademark can only be enforced if WWW and monitor its growth and direction. Incorporation of
the compmw diligently pursues trademark violations. Companies multimedia applications on the Web presents many application
such as Coca-Cola, which have a universally recognized logo, can development opportunities. Another development to watch is the
never ensure that no one will download their logo graphic and role of government regulation regarding trade on the WWW.
misuse it. Therefore, they and others have decided that it is Thus far, the discussion about possible government regulations
easier to avoid making that logo accessible to millions of users. has centered around privacy issues, pornography on the Web,
and the government's ability to continue to wiretap
communications despite encryption over the Web. However, it
Resources for Engaging in Business on the W W W will not be m~reasonable to expect regulations regarding trade
practices on the WWW as E-cash becomes a viable means of
There are numerous resources on the WWW that can help a firm transaction. Whether or not to establish a Web site is a decision
create a business presence. The Web site that will be addressed by most MIS managers in the coming year.
http://www.directory.net/mentioned earlier is a useful resource. For those that do, success can be ensured by exercising caution
A large number of the resource providers are ISPs. Following is and observing basic good design principles.
a sample of such resources.

CommerceNet is an ISP (http://www.commerce.net/) that is For further information, contact Merrill E. Warkentin,
specifically commercial user oriented. They provide membership Northeastern University, College of Business Administration,
for businesses who want to place their products in the electronic 214 Hayden Hall, Boston, MA 02115. (617) 373-2044.
marketplace. They offer technical as well as marketing services [email protected]
to their customers. The Internet Ad Emporium
(http://mmink.cts.com/mmink) is an ISP who provides References
advertising on the WWW for businesses. The advertisements
could be classifieds or business dossiers. Apollo Advertising [ 1] Bernstein, David. "Insulate Against Internet Intruders,"
(http://apollo.co-uk/home.html), based in England, provides Datamation, October 1, 1994, pp. 49-52.
services to European and North American businesses. Apollo
[2] "Big Businesses on the Net? Not Yet," BusinessWeek,
allows its clients to put their own HTML documents on the
June 26, 1995, pages 100-101.
WWW. Branch Mall (http://Branch.com:108) provides online
shopping and services. The Global Electronic Market Service [3] Ellsworth, J.H. and Ellsworth, M.W. The Internet
(http://www.gems.com/index.html), based in England, provides Business Book. John Wiley & Sons, Inc. New York,
guides to businesses, travel, and real estate. They also assist 1994.
businesses in publislfing catalogs and offer other corporate
[4] Hayes, Mary. "Working Online, or Wasting Time?"
information. Internet Distribution Services, Inc.
Information Week, May 1, 1995, issue #525, pp. 38-51.
(http://www.service.com/) provides electronic marketing,
publishing, and distribution services on the WWW. The Internex [5] Liebstone, Marvin. "Investors to Shape Internet Market,"
Information Services Company (http://www.internex.com/) OR/MS Today, Vol. 22, No. 4, August 1995, p. 20.
provides rental space on their Matrix Marketplace, commctivity
[6] Markoff, John. "Hacker Case Underscores Internet's
services, and ISDN information. The UnderWorld Industries
Vulnerability," New York Times February 17, 1995, p.
Shopping Maul at the University of Michigan provide
D1.
"weird/cool/fringe type HTML catalogs."
[7] Markoff, John. "Business Technology: A Free and Simple
Prognosis Computer Link," New York Times. December 8, 1993,
p. D1.
While we won't witness widespread transactions processing on
[8] "Shielding the Net from Cyber-Scoundrels,"
the Web, there will be more digital colnmercial activity,
BusinessWeek, November 15, 1994, page 88.
especially once the security problem is solved. Additionally,
there will certainly be more conferencing, customer support, [9] "The Future of Money," BusinessWeek, June 12, 1995,
collaboration, research, and remote access to corporate services pages 66-78.
and information. As the technologies become mainstreamed,
web servers may become standard in some industries. It will,
however, probably be years before any mission-critical
applications are deployed on the WWW.

A CM SIGICE Bulletin 18 Volume 21, Number 2, October 1995