There was a time when websites for small and midsize companies were not the no-brainers they are today. Even in business-to-business, a lot of customer companies weren't even on the internet. Of those who were, a lot were still on dialup - networks and broadband were just getting going.

Companies started by putting up rudimentary, do-it-yourself sites that looked like their kids had done them.

The next step up was sites done by programmers - and it was hard to tell if a good site would be worth the investment. But looking back now, it's easy to see that a decent site nearly always paid off for those early adopters - and fast. Sometimes the sites startied to improve businesses measurably just hours after going live.

That was the case with Warson Group, Inc., a leading importer of high-performance steel-toed shoes and boots and the sole occupational licensee for big brands like Florsheim, Everlast and Converse.

We first upgraded Warson’s site as part the launch of the company’s slip-resistant sole technology, then upgraded again to shift the emphasis from that brand to the whole line. In the process, we made it easy to find any shoe from any other part of this nearly 200-page site.

Even without commerce, Warson's experience was excatly what we expected - though it surprised management. From almost the minute the site went live, everone in the company's ecosystem started using it for just about everything, streamlining communications and improving results in countless ways.

Within a few short years, Warson's distribution network was clamoring for commerce - a capability we didn't yet offer. It was time for them to take their next step in technology, with our blessing.