Is there such a thing as a commercial website layout guide?

Is there such a thing as a commercial website layout guide? If so, where can I find it?

Thanks,
Nathan P.

I would think there is no one "right" answer to that. A lot of it would depend on the industry - a technology company would need a more web 2.0 site than say an ice making company.

I'm not entirely sure what it is you are looking for.

To me a commercial website must have...

1. A homepage where you can quickly tell what it is the company does within the first few seconds (i.e. must be above the fold and easy to spot).
2. A more detailed page explaining who and what the company does - the About Us page. Tell the world what makes the company unique without bashing the competition overly much. (Explaining how you do things without bragging/boasting/chest thumping to the point of making your message seem a lie.)
3. At minimum a contact form. Additionally, names, emails and phone numbers help move a company into a more established professional appearance and makes the company seem bigger than the simple Mom and Pop type company.
4. Though industry dependent and some would say they are overdone and easily manipulated - past client list and/or portfolio.
5. Site Map - helps search engines as well as humans find things on the site. This can also help overcome a complicated navigation system or overgrown (too many pages to find things) website.
6. Throughout the site both overtly and subtly ask for the sale.

At bare minimum, IMHO, a commercial site should have a homepage, about us, and contact page.

Hope that helps or at least spurs more conversation.

oh I can't help it blatent plug
http://www.webdigity.com/index.php/topic,6184.0.Site+review.html
Our site review includes suggestions on layouts, colour schemes etc
We also discuss best placement of testimonials, what should be included in the about us page and so on.

eCommerce is not about design, but usability - safety. In my honest opinion an e-commerce web site must have :

1) Contact information, not just an email or contact form, but snail mail information too.

2) Secure connections. Https is very important for your clients.

3) A visitor must be able to order something with 3 moves. More clicks may give the time to the client to change his/her decision.

The layout should be something simple. There is no need for flash or other funzy elements here, as we want the visitors to pay attention on the products, not anything else.

Hope this helps ;)

To echo what has already been said...
If your selling products, you should be able to be contacted, by mail, phone, email and so these details must be on-line even if you get a few prank calls :)
You should include an about us page, include photos anything to impress how trustworthy you are and it shows your open
Make sure you have unique content to go with the products, got a great product write about it, people buy products only if they feel the information and support is there. Knowledge bases are a good idea, but only if you have the content to fill it.

Landing pages & mini sites - are great but rememmber to brand in a similar way to your main site, consistency of a brand is important.
Finally go with what makes you comfortable.
If you like the whole web 2.0 look then this article might help
http://www.webdesignfromscratch.com/web-2.0-design-style-guide.cfm

Looks like I have a little updating to do then...like phone number on the contact page, and a "About Us" page.

If you can get past the odd formatting of the page (the site is in transition right now) and that the article is geared for professional crafters (the examples, not the information); I think this could help you get started with Writing an About Me Page

Now that was very interesting to say the least, and quite a bit helpful. I think I did a good job after reading that.

So glad we all could help you.

And thanks for the positive words about my article.

You're welcome :D

I'll take all what you all have written into account when I work on the redesign of my site. (Drupal and vB wouldn't integrate, maybe bbecause I installed vB to it's own folder? Grr!)

Nathan