While businesses of all sizes are tapping into the power of the Internet to market products and services and to communicate with customers, the advantage goes to small businesses. The low cost and flexibility of the Internet makes it easier than ever for entrepreneurs to outsmart their larger competitors, and it looks like word is getting out. Last year, 42 percent of companies with fewer than 100 employees had web sites, according to the Kelsey Group, a Princeton, N.J.-based market research firm.
Building a business web site is the first way you should start taking advantage of the power of the Internet, yet some people doubt it’s worth the effort. Are you afraid of all the maintenance and upkeep of starting a web site? Worried about learning HTML and other web lingo? Do you think it’ll be too expensive? Fear no more. Yahoo! Web Hosting offers a starter plan for only $11.95 a month, a quick and easy way to build and manage your web site. Small business capabilities have increased dramatically with web sites. Features, such as email and voice-over Internet protocol communication, are inexpensive enough for even the smallest businesses. Best of all, they can reach more customers.
But before you start building your site, determine its purpose and write the content. Content is the area in which most small businesses fail. Anyone can build a web site, but to be successful, you have to fill it with good content. More and more businesses are utilizing a combination of online and offline solutions.
So, what are you waiting for? Start today by taking advantage of Yahoo!’s Web Hosting and Merchant Solutions help pages for planning, writing, and building your business web site.