1. IMMERSION

If you haven't done so already, immerse yourself in the Internet. Learn what makes it a unique medium (one hint: unlike the passive media that preceded it, it's interactive, AKA self-service).

2. PURPOSE

Why do you have a web site for your business? Is it because it's the hip thing to do? Because all your competitors have one? What is it you want to deliver on your site that a) your competitors don't have, and b) your customers can't get from you through other media? Always think first about what would work for your customer.

3. GOALS

What do you want your site to accomplish for your business, beyond being the place to ongoingly assemble a database of your potential customers? And remember, the Internet is yet another medium. Few eCommerce sites can be profitable on their own without working in concert with other media/distribution channels.

4. BRANDING

Cross-promote between the various media you utilize. Make it easy for your customers to reach you via their favorite media. The simplest example of this is to include your site's address on everything that mentions your company (business cards, brochures, etc.).

5. DESIGN

Find someone to design/redesign your web site who can also register it, find you a host for it, list it with all the major portals and search engines, and maintain it.

How do you find a web designer? Visit sites you admire and if the site hasn't been done in-house, they'll have a link to their design team. Visit the design team's site. See what else they've done, what their philosophy is and how their own site works.

Work with a local company. Email is great, but nothing will ever replace face-to-face communication.

How much does it cost to build a web site? That's like asking, "how much is a car?" Depends on what you want. Have a budget in mind. When the people who are submitting bids to design/redesign your site ask you what your budget is, "very little" is not an appropriate answer.

6. INTERFACE & NAVIGATION

People use the Internet primarily because it's convenient and saves them time. Anyone visiting your site should know immediately what your company is "about", what you offer and how they can get the information/products/services they need ­ fast. You have only a few seconds to do this, so make your site's download time fast. Don't try to dazzle them with fancy graphics. By the time those graphics have downloaded, your potential customer is already on your competitor's site. Think about a "lite" version of your site for people with slower modems.

And your site had better be easy to get around. Navigation needs to be intuitive for the user.

7. YOUR AUDIENCE

Target your audience. The Internet is not a mass medium. You don't need 100 million, or necessarily even one million people visiting your site to make it profitable. You may just need the few hundred or few thousand people who would be interested in buying your services. Design the site with these people in mind.

8. BUILD YOUR DATABASE

The Internet and email are the cheapest and easiest ways in history for an entrepreneur to market their business. Build a database of the people who are coming to your site, because they are the most likely to be your future customers. Get information about them by asking them to answer a few simple demographic questions. Like everything else on the net should be, try to make the experience fun. Give them something in return for their time (a discount on future services, free shipping on their first order, etc.)

9. PROMOTION

After you've had your site listed with all the major portals and search engines, don't expect anything to happen. Unless you have many thousands of dollars to spend to advertise with those sites, you have essentially bought yourself a line listing in a global yellow pages.

In order for you not to have built a "store in the desert", you will now need to actively begin promoting your site. This is something that for the most part requires grinding it out on an email-by-email, site-by-site basis. A few suggestions:

• Cross-link with sites that have access to your potential customers.
• Announce your site to all your friends and colleagues via email, and offer them a discount for buying and/or referring business to you. (It's surprising how often people forget to do this.)
• Use permission marketing to email regular announcements to your database ("opt-in"). Do this only if you have something worth reading (like a site redesign, new features, products or services). Don't just say hi; people are busy. Offer seasonal promotions, gift ideas, contests, gift certificates, coupons, etc. Also give your customers the opportunity to take themselves off your list ("opt-out").
• Create a feeling of a club, community, or "cyberhome" for your users. This will encourage them to keep coming back. Create a place on your site (a bulletin board or chat room) where they can express their opinions and have their questions answered about subjects related to your business and the industry it's in. Repeat business/customer retention are critical to making your site profitable.
• Investigate new programs and technologies (affiliate marketing, streaming media, etc.) to see if they would be appropriate for your customers.

10. MAINTENANCE

Unfortunately, the real work begins after your site is launched—suddenly everyone that visits becomes a web designer and/or producer. Pay attention to what they're telling you and keep updating and upgrading your site to satisfy their needs. At the same time, keep surfing and finding new ideas and features to add to your site, from your competitors and from the bigger "name" sites.

And...Be patient and good luck!