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The simple answer is you don't. However, if you don't have a website you'll miss out on potential business opportunities. Most people when looking for a new product or service search the internet first. If you have a website that people have looked at then half the sales job is already done. In other words - your website is your shop window on the internet, working for you 24 hours each and every day.

You need to update your website whenever there are changes to your services, products, personnel or prices. This will also increase the traffic to your website.

Email Marketing is similar to traditional direct mail and can be used to send promotions and information to members of your mailing list. For example, an email can be sent out with a promotional offer that links through to a specific web page giving them a promotional code. This can then go through to be used on an e-commerce website or to contact you directly using email or phone. In comparison to direct mail, it is far cheaper and it is possible to track exactly who has received the email, who has opened it and who has gone on to visit your website.

This is the process of improving the volume and quality of traffic to a website. Usually, the higher your website is on the search engine page, the more searchers will visit your site. This is achieved using amongst other things keywords and meta tags

Keywords are words and phrases that help search engines index websites by category - therefore making it easier to search and be found.

Pay per click (PPC) is a way to advertise with search engines (sponsored links), advertising networks, content websites and blogs. Advertisers only pay when a user actually clicks on their advert. Prices for this type of advertising can start as low as 1p per click.

Using various analytical programs it is possible to see who, where and when people are looking at your site. This is very important as it allows you to tailor your website to your users' needs.

Basically, XHTML is a more refined version of HTML with many more advantages e.g. it allows those people with sight difficulties to read your website using page readers. It also allows your site to be viiewed on mobile devices.

CSS or Cascading Style Sheets is a language used with HTML and XHTML to style the pages of your website. This facilitates easy access for page readers and allows for easier design updates to your site.

This refers to the practice of making websites usable by people of all abilities and disabilities. When sites are correctly designed, developed and updated, all users have equal access to the information.

Example 1
Adding in text equivalents for image and using meaningful link names will help a visitor using text-to-speech software and/or text-to-Braille hardware. Scalable text and images will also assist visitors with poor sight.

Example 2
Colour blind users may have difficulty navigating a site if links are only displayed in different colour, for example click here. However a simple underline also helps to define the link for both colour blind and non colour blind users.

Example 3
Adding in a little extra code in so that a page can be navigated by visitors using a keyboard alone, or a simple switch access device, means that visitors who cannot use a mouse can still access your information.

Example 4
When videos are closed captioned (subtitled) or a sign language version is available, deaf and hard of hearing users can understand the video. When flashing effects are avoided or made optional, users prone to seizures caused by these effects are not put at risk.

Example 5
When content is written in plain language and illustrated with instructional diagrams and animations, users with dyslexia and learning difficulties are better able to understand the content.

When sites are correctly built and maintained, all of these users can be accommodated while not impacting on the usability of the site for non-disabled users

Depending on your market, most or all of these areas need to be considered when designing and building a site.

The World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) was founded in 1994. It is an international association of Member organizations, full-time staff, and the public who work together to develop Web standards. W3C's mission is: "To lead the World Wide Web to its full potential by developing protocols and guidelines that ensure long-term growth for the Web." visit their site www.w3.org/Consortium/ for more information.

A blog (short for "web log") is essentially an online journal or diary where you can post messages, photos, music and video on your own mini website. They have become very popular in recent years and are excellent for personal and up-to-date opinion and information. For examples see blogger.com

This is the buying and selling of products over the internet. Ranging from small scale selling using systems such as PayPal to a fully functioning online shops making use of credit card authentication and security.

A forum is an online message board where information can be shared and discussed.

A podcast is a portable multimedia broadcast hosted on a website. For example the BBC's radio shows Russell Brand and Terry Wogan both supply a podcast after their show. It can be an audio or video broadcast. Its name came from its portability and it's commonly used with iPods. Podcasts can be updated regularly and automatically downloaded though software such as iTunes. For more information visit apple.com

RSS, or Really Simple Syndication, is a method of sharing and broadcasting content such as news from a website. Using XML, items, such as news articles, can be automatically downloaded into a News Reader or published onto another website. There are two ways of using RSS; to share your news with others or to harvest others' news for your site.

A wiki is a type of website that allows users to easily add, remove, or otherwise edit and change some content. This ease of interaction and operation makes a wiki an effective tool for collaborative authoring. It has been popularised by the encyclopedia-style site www.wikipedia.org