A. Yes, you do need a website. The fact is, a website is now as necessary as a business card. Customers use the World Wide Web to do their scouting before they actually contact a business. In fact, having a website is a very important tool for validating your business. In most cases, if a potential customer sees that you don't have a web presence, they will pass you by in favor of a business that does have one. Time is a very precious commodity these days and people are not inclined to waste it. They want to know who you are, what you can offer them and how you differ from a competitor before they take the time to talk to you. A website puts you in the global market and enhances your "word of mouth" contacts.

A. My philosophy is that if you want to do it then you can do it; and that applies to if you have to do it, too! There are many good books and online resources available to the novice. You may also know someone who is willing to impart their web knowledge on you to help you along. All of these things can work together for your good and you have a better chance of success if you keep the following in mind:

• No one knows your business as well as you - This means you must tailor all information you receive to fit your particular application.
• Be realistic about the time commitment of your web project - Establishing your web presence takes time even if you already know how to build websites. Along with learning your web development tools, you must also understand how best to present yourself on the web. There is a fairly sequential process that underlies building a website and there are setbacks that can occur all along the way. You need to prepare yourself for them and allow yourself time to manage each task. If you set a strict deadline with no fudge room, you are setting yourself up for a frustrating experience. Remember, you are trying to run a business too!
• Know your resources - Just because you found it on the web or the guy next door is "pretty good with computers", does not mean it is good information and/or it fits your needs. Use facts, your gut and good common sense when evaluating your resources.
• Know the law - It may appear to be a free-for-all out there in cyber space due to the newness of the technology and very few standards; however there are ways you can get in trouble on the web. Make no assumptions about what you can "borrow" from another site. Intellectual property rights apply to the WWW and need to be followed. There are many websites that offer free images, code, clipart, and informational content to the general public and you are encouraged to go to those places for your materials. For more information on intellectual property, visit http://www.wipo.int/portal/index.html.en.

A. Yes, you can host your site at "no charge" but I wouldn't say it is for free. Here is what you sacrifice when you choose to host your business website at no charge:

• You do not get a unique domain name. Your web address will not be clean and simple like www.mycompany.com. Rather, you will have www.freehosting.com/mycompany/homepage
• You must include advertising banner ads on your page. How else do you think you get to host for free? Advertisers are using your space to advertise.
• Limited disk storage. This means you are restricted on how much space you can use for free. Logos, photos, graphic images all take space and if you have a lot of them, you may have a problem.
• You may be associated with some unsavory sites. There are many websites out there of less-than-sterling character who take advantage of free web hosting.

A. I know it is a relief to be able to put your web project in their capable hands, but make sure you have open and clear communication with them at all times. When you partner with someone there must be some level of trust established and the best way to do that is to have a framework of understanding. Make sure you are clear on:

• Your requirements
• How the company intends to meet your requirments
• Deliverables and their timelines
• Management of tasks outside of approved project scope

Get this information in writing and have detailed discussions at every juncture of the project. Furthermore, you should have your own hard copy website folder that contains all invoices, user ids and passwords for your domain registrar and web host. There are web development companies that may not readily give you this information and truthfully, I'm not sure why this is so. If your web development company also hosts your site, they should still be able to supply you with a method for accessing your account, unless your arrangement was that you would never be allowed to do so. With respect to your domain name registration, not having access to your account info raises the concern: Who actually owns the domain name? This is very important to know because if the web company lists themselves as the administrative contact on your domain name registration, they get to call the shots on what happens with your domain name. If the web company disappears, you are stuck because you have no proof that you own yourcompany.com - yes, this happens all the time.

A. You may have built it, but it doesn't ensure they will come. You need to let the search engines know you are out there by submitting your site to them. Granted, their crawlers (small programs that are launched from the search engine, find their way to you via web links and gather data from your site to be brought back to the mother ship, the search engine) may find you at some point, but you should consider being proactive.
As important as letting search engines know you exist, is optimizing your site for them. There are many suggestions for making your website more "search engine friendly" (i.e. optimized) which in turn can raise your rankings in the search engine results. However, I must warn you - search engines change how they do things at a rapid rate, so keeping up on technology can become a daunting task. Your best bet is to find a reputable resource, like searchenginewatch.com, and learn where your site might be lacking. There are also Search Engine Optimization companies out there that specialize in grooming websites to put their best foot forward. As with anything on the WWW, be wary of the integrity of the company with whom you are dealing. Search engines generally don't make solid promises on your website placement in their engines, a 3rd-party can't make promises either.

If you are in the process of building a website, be sure you or your web developer are incorporating natural search engine optimization techniques.