Boost 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.

It is more important than ever for small businesses to have a Web site. But building a site is only half the battle. You must also attract customers.

To build traffic, a high rank in search results is beneficial. Your site should appear in the first few results. The search term should relate to your products or services.

Search engine optimization (SEO) is the process of getting a good page rank. Search sites don't disclose their algorithms. But certain techniques have proven effective.

I recently received an e-mail from an upholsterer. He owns a small shop in New York. His two questions about getting his business on the Internet cover basic issues.

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 need 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. Try to answer them.

Starting around $5 monthly, you get hosting, a domain name and access to site-building tools. This is ideal if you're too busy to learn HTML and 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.

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 Java script obfuscator.

Creating a site is more difficult if you do it yourself. I don't mean to discourage that; it's actually very interesting. But if you own a small business, you may not have the time.

You can really go overboard with expensive Web-development programs. They have lots of capabilities, and huge learning curves. There are free, simpler programs available. Nvu and Amaya are two programs to get you started.

2. What camera do I use?

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.

The 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.

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