The internet isn't just for the big boys. Creating a website for a small business gets you exposure, builds your image and generates customer loyalty. But, as with all things, the quality of your website is very important. A bad website won't do anything for your profits. You need the right domain, web-design, page-rank and content.

Daunted by the tech words? Don't be, this quick guide will help you lay the foundations for a successful business presence on the web.

The first thing you need for your site is an address, you know: www.somethingorother.com. Web addresses (domain names) can be bought online, usually fairly cheaply (under $10) but the prices rise if you want something more popular, such as www.coffeehouse.com, www.books.com or www.freesex.com. To get a good address cheaply, try injecting something that's unique and memorable about your business into the domain. Use your image or location, such as:

www.Gregscoffehouse.com
www.Greatbooksgreatprice.com
www.Freesexinboston.com

Plug 'buy domain name' to find someone who'll reserve your name, and then 'website hosting' to find someone who can upload your site to the net. Speak with them first and check if anyone has had any trouble with them before, if you know someone with a good website, ask who they used - with so many of these internet upstarts, you can never be too careful.

Website design is crucial. On the net people have very short attention spans, if your site is too complex, tacky or unusable, they won't stay more than a few seconds. Visit some websites, small business, big business, who cares: What do you like about them and what could they do better?

Unless you're adept at design and know your way around a web design application, I recommend engaging a professional. If you really want to try it yourself, get your hands on iWeb (mac only), it's part of Apple's iLife suite: It's cheap and makes designing quality pages a snap.

When you're looking for someone to design your page, ask too see some of their previous designs. You're looking for someone who can create a simple, easy to use and good looking internet site.

You'll also need to change the content on the site regularly, updating prices, promotions and products in order to keep customers coming back. A good idea is promoting an online coupon which changes every fortnight or so. It's a great way to get your customers to coming back the site, and to your store. To do this, you'll need a web developer who will organise

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