To conduct business on the Internet, you need an e-commerce website. An e-commerce website can be as simple as a catalog with an order form, or it can be a complex multimedia-enabled website with real-time credit card processing capabilities. The Internet has enabled merchants to offer their goods and services to potential customers around the world 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. E-commerce offers customers the opportunity to browse, select, and pay for goods in real time from the comfort of their own home or office.

E-commerce supplements the traditional selling channels and attracts customers that you never knew existed. The Internet revolution is affecting every company, small and large. Businesses of all sizes can equally share in the benefits of e-commerce, but they are all equally vulnerable to being left behind if they do not adopt the new business models.

Updated: 03/19/98