Advanced Site

Advanced sites have all the bells and whistles! In the grocery world, this would include sites that allow online ordering, scheduling of delivery, and online payment. You have an interface between your inventory database and the Web to show customers only products that are actually in stock.

Some specialty food retailers/manufacturers might be giving virtual plant tours, allowing customers to chat with the artesians who makes the product or letting them choose what they want in that box of specially mixed cereal.

Advanced Web sites typically contain more than five pages of content and customized graphics. There are usually a variety of online transaction forms and databases. In addition, there are daily to weekly updates which can be quite time consuming.

Obviously the level of commitment is much higher. You will need dedicated Web resources. A small company might be able to manage in-house with someone who has decent expertise with the technology but also does other things. But more than likely, you will either need an in-house person who only does this, or to hire outside expertise. Big decisions loom as to what you actually want and what can you afford.



Take an timeout and look at the following example of a "3rd Generation" site by visiting the Pastoral Artisan Cheese, Bread, and Wine Web site.