The thesis describes the development of a project proposal report for building an e-commerce website for a small textile firm based in Helsinki, Finland. The aim of the study is to determine how small businesses that are currently not highly involved in e-commerce should approach developing an e-commerce website in order to maximize the positive impact of selling on the Internet.

The study combined the use of action research and qualitative research methodologies by developing a project proposal report for Ryijypalvelu-RP through analyzing secondary data such as websites, textbooks, and journal articles, submitting the report to the management of Ryijypalvelu-RP to get feedback and suggestions to improve the practicality and reliability of the report, and then developing a second version of the project proposal report that would best fit the requirements of Ryijypalvelu-RP Oy.

The study determined that small business such as Ryijypalvelu-RP Oy should approach developing an e-commerce website by selecting a user-friendly e-commerce solution; ensuring that web design will aid the site visitors with completing their purchase; and using appropriate online techniques such as blogging, search engine optimization and social media marketing in order to increase the amount of relevant visitors on the website.