How To Improve Your Small Business With a Web-Site

Do you think that only big business benefits from having a Web site? Try again. A Web site can also boost a service-oriented small business' bottom-line.

Two questions about getting your business on the Internet.

1. How do I make a site?

You can do the design work and coding yourself. You can work off of templates. Or, you can hire someone.

You'll want an attractive home page with simple navigation. Basic information should be posted online, such as services offered and pricing. Let customers complete forms to request more information.

Think of your customers' most common questions on a day to day, then try to answer them in a few pages.

1and1.com, FreeServers.Com, godaddy.com,  Yahoo! and others offer packages for domain registration and hosting the pages of your small businesses web-site.

Starting around $5 a month, you get hosting, a domain name and access to site-building tools. This is ideal if you're too busy to learn the HTML coding that is the basis of all web-sites, or if you can't afford a designer.

These site-building tools are professional-looking templates. You can use them as they are or you can customize them easily. You can also add a store to sell products online.

You also can hire a designer.  Some companies will both design and host your site. Three such are Web.com, Homestead.com and NetworkSolutions.com. There are many more.

Ask around for recommendations. Too many Web designers promise the moon, but deliver much less.

You need a contract. Specify costs and delivery dates. Make sure that you own the entire site and its code. If the developer keeps control, you may have to pay for every change.

Include your telephone number and address on the site. Also, include your e-mail address. To avoid spammers getting that, use a tool called a Javascript obfuscator.  Google that term and you will find a number of great tools.

Creating a site is more difficult if you do it yourself just because it takes more time and requries you to know more about the HTML coding tools.

If you own a small business, you may not have the time.

You can really go overboard with expensive Web-development programs, on eof the best and easiest to use is Microsoft FrontPage.  At about $110 a copy it is a very functional software program.  Be sure to ask your hosting provide rif they support FrontPage extensions prior to signing up with a hosting company.

2. How do I get photos uploaded?

A digital camera is easiest, although a film camera will work. Digital pictures can be transferred directly to a computer. Film photos must be digitized and transferred with a scanner.

For instance an upholsterer might want to show close-ups of stitching or design. If so, he needs a macro setting. Most point-and-shoot cameras have a macro setting among their modes. On SLR (single-lens reflex) cameras, a macro lens is needed.

Web sites display photos at a low resolution. Set yours at 72 dots per inch, to keep the files small. Your photo software should be able to do that. A higher resolution offers no benefits. And it makes pages much slower to download.

Don't spend a lot on a camera. Basically, you need a 3 megapixel (or better) camera with a macro mode. If you don't have one, borrow one from a friend. They're common.