Managers of commercial Web sites, who are commonly called Webmasters, are the audience for this book. It focuses on three questions:

• “Are you convinced that your company’s web site is making a difference, but you don’t know how to prove it?”

• “Can you justify the time and expense that it takes to create and maintain your web site?”

• “How does your web site impact your customers, prospects, company image, distribution, sales and personnel?”

Part 1 covers the processes of justifying Web sites and measuring their effects as they pertain to and complement site planning and implementation. It describes how analyzing the needs of customers and the target audience influences goal setting, justification strategies, and measurement requirements. An in-depth process for justification is presented, and a number of case studies are given. The authors give a variety of measurement techniques, which are divided into a hierarchy: impact measures, approximated measures, consolidated measures, and raw measures. This part of the book is for senior managers and financial decision makers who must understand how to measure the initial and continuing value and acceptance of Web sites.

Part 2 explains the processes and tools required to quantify the measures that support the site justification and audience-content analysis discussed in Part 1. It describes in detail how to obtain both technical site data and nontechnical measures such as sales growth and customer satisfaction. The case studies from Part 1 are expanded and provide excellent illustrations of the points presented. The audience for Part 1 will also find this material valuable, but it also gives more in-depth technical information for site managers and senior technical people.

Part 3 explains how to apply these measures in evaluating the site’s success in meeting its goals and in deciding whether and how to change site content or promotion. It reviews circumstances that would lead to shutting down a Web site, including that it has failed to meet its goals.

The book has two strengths that make it worth reading. First, it provides usable, commonsense measures that managers can use to justify Web sites to senior management. The measurement hierarchy gives Web site managers a direction and organization that will help them answer the authors’ three questions quoted at the beginning of this review.

Second, rather than using case studies as war stories, the authors provide a running study of well-chosen Web sites at five very different institutions. This continuing study holds the discussion together and makes it relevant. The example sites are varied enough that managers from almost any organization can find valuable tips for the justification of their own Web sites.

This book is well written and easy to read. There is much here that would be of value to any Webmaster.