Web Systems Design and Online Consumer Behavior [Electronic resources] نسخه متنی

Introduction

The lone Web designer of the early 1990s, hand coding a Web site in
HMTL, probably did not see himself or herself as a product designer and thought little about the
threat of litigation. In those days, managing the technology was a primary concern because software
tools were quite primitive. With site development software such as Front Page® and Dream Weaver®
yet to be invented, the software designers of yesteryear invested a lot more time and energy in
producing minimally functional Web sites than they do today in producing very sophisticated Web
sites. Likewise, e-commerce was not yet a reality, little was known about the potential online
consumer, and the concept of “reverse auction” was not even a pipe dream.

Today, e-commerce has become a reality and lawsuits of the last decade have altered the Web
design landscape. Now, like designers of cars, refrigerators, and toys, the Web site designer
cannot afford to design in a vacuum, free from knowledge of government regulation and the
possibility of litigation. Whole areas of law, such as product liability, patent infringement, and
antitrust, which were promulgated to protect the consumer and the public, also impact the product
design process, even for software designers.

The goal of the Web site designer is to provide an interface that best meets the needs of the
consumer and the vendor. However, the threat of litigation related to Web design may hamper these
efforts and diminish innovation, as companies patent Web-based business methods and assert these
patents against infringing Web sites. In a worst-case scenario, designers of the future may become
subject to an involuntary template, forged by litigation, which severely limits the functionality
and aesthetics a Web site can offer. The behavior of the online consumer will be similarly
circumscribed, and this would have profound effects upon the future potential of Web-based
e-commerce.