Do elaborate Web sites stimulate book sales?

“But do book sites really help sell books? As in so much of publishing, no one quite knows.”  That is the conclusion reached by an article in the New York Times.  I am inclined to suspect that in most cases (with a major exception, perhaps being reference works, where one may consult with a web site to “look up” a fact) Web sites do not sell books.  I suspect that book buyers are a more careful lot, not so easily impressed by a site that uses Flash and Javascript.  Moreover, most book web sites that I see are painfully non-interactive – they often do not have a method for reader interaction.  So perhaps I am setting my sights low when I say that I hope that mention of a book by me here can inspire more sales than an elaborate web site.