In this month's issue of Axis Magazine we've discussed the dot-com era and what it’s like for modern e-commerce.

Download your copy of our Web Advice article from Axis Magazine (1.2MB) >

When the dot-com bubble burst in 2000, many companies went bust and confidence in the online world was damaged. A few big players survived, taking a large market share and they now enjoy great success (Amazon, eBay, Play.com). But many smaller companies were lost.

Other companies which survived were either not looking too big or had a real-world presence to back them up. The mentality of “get big quick” was destined to only pay off for a fraction of the players involved. There were simply too many companies competing to do the same thing, with too much investment and not enough actual business. Business models designed to operate at a loss for years, just to win enough of a market share for profit later on.

Back to the present

These days, successful e-commerce companies dont tend to look at dominating the web, but instead see it as a way to position a their company to sell online. A good way to think about it is like companies setting up another branch or store, which just happens to be online. This is why they resemble shops, with areas for different items, baskets while you shop, checkouts and so on. Some websites even feature live help, where a representative can chat to customer through a chat window.

Woolworths was a high profile casualty of the recession last Christmas. Because they slashed their prices, other retailers were forced to do the same in order to remain competitive. In the end, Woolworths closed, but they were unfortunately only the first. Poor Christmas sales and a general down-turn in the economy have forced other retailers to tighten their belts and prepare for a harsh couple of years. But it's not all doom and gloom - according to the Woolworth’s website, the store will be re-launching in the summer; this time online.

With the speed at which customers can browse websites, the key is to make sure they quickly find what they’re looking for. Research has shown that customers in the past have taken up to 34 hours to make a buying decision. Having a site which is easy to navigate and where possible, remembers who they are and what they looked at before, will help bring in those sales. Shopping online is a quick "I need it now" kind of shopping and one which you can get into quite easily.

In the early days, the dot-com world seemed like just a fad and for some, during the bubble burst of 2000, it was. E-Commerce is now commonly accepted, more sophisticated and proving to be more resilient during these times of economic recession. If you haven't thought about it before or you've had bad experiences, think about it again and see what e-commerce could mean for your business.

More on e-commerce

Shoppers shun high street for online bargains >
Retail sales down by 1.9% in March >
Wikipedia article on the dot-com bubble >
Woolworths is coming back online >
Some e-commerce stories (of varying successes) from Debenhams, Argos and Sainsbury >

Beaver Design has finished work on a simple, clear and effective website for Elite Electrical Services Ltd (EES). The site keeps with EES's branding and image, but gives them a portfolio on the web to help promote their business.

The site has a simple breakdown of the services provided by EES, along with information about the company and how to contact them.

To view the website and find out more, please go to:

www.elite-electrical.com

A new website has recently been completed for Essex based APEX Steel Structures. The new site is larger, has an improved design and features more information about what APEX do.

Beaver Design created a functional site which features information, images and contact details for APEX Steel Structures. Beaver Design also hosts emailing for APEX, providing a completely necessary part of any business. The site is aimed at promoting APEX in the construction industry with details about their services and links to downloadable brochures.

For more information and to view the site, please go to:

www.apexstructures.co.uk

In Northamptonshire, the School Governors One-Stop Shop (SGOSS) chose Beaver to make a dedicated site with its own marketing campaign to promote the need for more school governors in the area.

The site features an editable vacancies list, so that SGOSS can add and remove available school governors’ positions. Beaver created SGOSS a simple CMS (content management system) to allow them to keep this updated.

To view this site, find out more and even become a school governor, please go to:

www.northamptonshireneedsschoolgovernors.com

Beaver has finished a recent update to the Crondon Park Golf & Country Club website, adding some small design features and image galleries. Crondon Park is a perfect venue for golf, weddings, functions, corporate events and hospitality, set in a beautiful valley landscape.

Our style redesign to the site added some subtle tweaks, as well as new gallery pages and a rotating Javascript picture gallery. The new design features are subtle and designed to fit seamlessly with the normal running of the site.

To view the site and find out more, please go to:

www.crondon.com