Websites are here to stay and every business should have an online presence. There are plenty of things your business can do with a website: advertise your services, sell products online, communicate with existing customers and gather sales leads.

It’s worth creating a website even if it is only 3 pages, just so something meaningful appears when a prospective customer types your company name into Google.

Where to start?

As tempting as it may be, DON'T rush in head long and start building your site. You’ll end up wasting time and money. Instead, plan carefully, thinking about:

• What your site is for?
• What are your objectives?
• Do you want to sell your products and services online?
• Will the site provide help for existing customers?
• Is it going to be a simple ‘shop window’ to provide you with warm sales leads?
• Who are your potential customers?

What will you need?

Before you start building your site, give some thought to how people will find it online. You will need;

• Domain name
• Hosting
• email address
• Google registration

These are usually supplied by a good website designer as part of the service they provide.

When putting your website together, try to keep its purpose and audience in the forefront of your mind. Whenever you create a page, ask yourself whether it will appeal to the people who read your site. Does it contain the right information? Does the content sound good?

Why have a website?

Absolutely everyone uses the internet now, and Google is the most known search engine, so if you're not using one of the most popular mediums to advertise your business then you may be loosing valuable business. Don't be left behind, if you've not got a website then 2009 is your year to get onto the World Wide Web.