Its 2010; who can dare without having a website?

We will end one decade after the beginning of the new millennium; it is an age when mankind conquered the space, the world peace is gone, and businesses are taking advantage of their presence on web.

Right, the first two sayings may be an exaggeration but the third one is surely true.

But, it is still surprising to see many businesses are operating completely offline without having a single page on web to introduce them and tell what they are doing. In 1999, a company not having a website was doing little bad to its business, but still it was a common practice not having a site. But today in 2010, living without a website means your customers are not able to find you.

I agree that the Yellow Pages are still very popular for businesses to meet their customers, but young customers today are using such bulky books as doorstoppers or kindling for the fireplace. Almost everybody under the age of 60 is using the internet and nearly everybody in his 20s and 30s is shopping just from online stores. If you are not present on the World Wide Web, then you are losing big number of customers. And this means decrease in sales. In this scenario, can anybody afford not having a good web presence?

There are few basic, helpful things you need to know while starting and creating any type of website, and progressing in your online business; below are some of them:

Domain Name: A domain is actually your internet address. These are the words people use to reach you. E.g., if you own old furniture store and running it with the name Tomas’ Furniture Store, then the more suitable domain name is www.tomasfurniturestore.com. Domain name secures your business because if you do not secure it your rivals can take this name and use it to redirect the traffic what should be yours towards their own sites.

Website: Securing the domain name is the first task. After doing it you need to build your site. You need a web designing company to do this job for you. They will create a home page, and other web pages including About, Contact, FAQs, Links, Testimonials, News, Articles and other pages. People having web designing skills do this themselves. They use static HTML pages or a PHP based blogging platform like WordPress and the website is ready.

Web Hosting: Web hosting plans are becoming more and more inexpensive; hosting package will cost you less than $10/month for shared hosting. You can run your own site, but the internet protocol (I.P.) address is shared with other sites also. Don't worry, your customers are always yours and can find you, whether you use shared hosting or dedicated hosting.

E-Commerce: And finally, if you are intended to conduct online business or want to reach customers online sales then an E-Commerce site is must for your business expansion. You can shape your ecommerce strategy by including different plans like a channel for information, sales inquiries, sales processing, sales fulfillment, and integrated logistic support. A consultant will help you plan your strategy and achieve your goals through managing the whole process based on your objectives and budget.

Don’t pass wait for one more decade, year or even a month without having online presence or strengthening the site you already have. Your customers are always there and they want to find you; just give them a clear, online way to reach you.