If you have completed Steps 1 - 4, you are ready to develop a preliminary project plan.
Think of developing your eBusiness presence as a project. Projects share these common tasks:
Define clear starting and ending points:
This project began when you decided to test your readiness to take your
business to the Web. It will end when your site is online and
functioning according to your project plan. Keep in mind that this is a
circular process, so you will develop a new project plan for upgrades
and enhancements to your existing site.
Identify necessary resources:
For this plan, the critical question is who will develop your site -
will you do it yourself, have it done by a partner or employee in your
small business, or will you hire someone to do it.
Set a timeline:
A timeline spells out your commitment to make something happen by a
specific date. Things happen fast on the Web. Sometimes your
competitive environment drives the speed you need to travel to get
online. Estimate when you want your small business web presence to be
fully functional.
Specify a budget:
eCommerce web sites can be done fairly simply and cost-efficiently.
They also can be complex to design and expensive. To estimate cost,
evaluate your site purpose and operation needs and identify which of
the following categories you belong to:
Small business sites with relatively straightforward, low volume online
buying and selling functions, smaller content (inventory) size and low
navigation complexity, using purchased (rented) Commercial Server
Provider space will cost less. Cost range estimate $1,000 - $5,000.
Sites with greater volume of transactions, large online catalogues and
databases, integrated to other systems in your business, and you own
your server. Cost range estimate - $5,000 - $20,000.
Highest volume selling sites, complex design and navigation,
integration requirements to other internal data systems,
intranet/extranet functionality, the highest levels of security for
purchases and communication. Cost range estimate $20,000 - $100,000.
Complete the chart below to create your project plan.
