To investigate successful web business models, an original multidimensional framework is defined and applied to a large number of web sites. The framework – named BM*Web – combines issues already present in existing schema describing business models, with innovative aspects that have not previously been taken into account in those combinations or which are now viewed in a new light. Results of the application of BM*Web to the 500 top list of Alexa (at a speficic time) highlight an articulated picture where more than one success profile exists and not all of them include a web community, although a strong relationship exists between community and success under some conditions. The identification of features that characterize the most successful business models for the Web could be used to define guidelines for company management, once the appropriate profile for a company has been recognised.