Web sites are one of the more recent and visual new business operations organizations have needed to adopt. Web sites provide a good illustration of the stages organizations went through when adopting new technologies. Visually you can see the progress of an organization's adoption by looking at their web site.
Stage 1: Brochures online
Initially companies did not want to invest time or integrate web sites into their business practices. They took their existing brochures and turned them into a web site.
- Stage 2: Graphic site
- It doesn't take long to realize that the brochure online web site was ineffectual. Many organizations still did not want to take responsibility for the web site. They handed the site over to people who were not knowledgeable or focused on the businesses needs. Sites were produced that included beautiful graphics but did not necessarily provide people with the information they were seeking.
- Stage 3: Flat navigable site
- Once companies understood that the web was going to be central to how they conducted their business, they understood that they had to create a web experience that immediately provided their visitor with the information they needed. Best of breed web practices were developed and integrated into the web site.
- Stage 4: Site infrastructure (database enabled applications)
- As the company rolled their ongoing corporate initiatives into their web site, web applications were developed.
