We can build simple retail websites with shopping carts and secure transactions. We can build complex Business-to-Business websites with part configurators, saved favorites, quote processes, and variable discounts. We can also build websites that allow the audience to build up a shopping cart of requested documents, and then email the documents when the user is finished looking.

The basic tool of secure shopping is the SSL certificate. When you purchase a SSL certificate, which warrants that your business really is who you say it is, you can use SSL (secure socket layer) encryption on your site. Your URL will have an "s" in it, as in https:/www.acme.com, and the user's browsers will show an icon that indicates they're on a secure site.

It's important to know at the beginning of a project if you'll be using a secure site, because there are search engine implications. If your initial search engine efforts tell Google about http://www.acme.com, but you later become a secure site, you'll be starting over again and dealing with a bit of confusion with Google.