As the mainstream of electronic commerce has recently shifted from B2C to B2B, many research topics that were previously considered important in electronic commerce are gradually fading, and new research topics are emerging. Among these newly prominent topics is strategic website design, often referred to as Web Engineering. Most existing methodologies in this field are biased toward pure design or cognitive science approaches, leaving substantial room for improvement. In this study, we propose "hierarchical fuzzy cognitive maps" as a new methodology to overcome the limitations of existing website design research methods, and demonstrate that various simulations are possible based on this approach, thereby presenting the possibility of adaptively modifying website design in response to changes in the market environment or shifts in user preferences. To this end, we surveyed the literature to identify the components influencing website design, established 15 such components, and designated user satisfaction as the primary target component. To objectively obtain the causal relationship weight values among these components, questionnaires were collected from 134 respondents and calculated using statistical methods. The fuzzy cognitive map obtained through this process was transformed into a hierarchical fuzzy cognitive map using the methodology proposed by Lee and Cho (1998). Four scenarios related to website design were then analyzed using the resulting fuzzy cognitive map, and their implications were explained. The results confirmed that the website design methodology proposed in this study can serve as a meaningful tool for adaptively transforming website design in response to future changes in the electronic commerce market.