If your business does not have an online presence, then you are probably missing out on a range of opportunities to promote your business and increase your sales. If your business does not yet have a website you may be concerned about how to go about setting it up, maintaining it and why you even need a website.
The Australian Guide to Online Business is a comprehensive guide to setting up a business website, by internet maestro, Tony Stevenson.
Stevenson begins by discussing the reasons for having a website – from making direct sales, to simply outlining services and directing customers to your brick and mortar premises. The different kinds of website are clearly explained.
The book then goes on to explore how to go about setting up a website. Practicalities such as registering a domain name and finding a host are clearly explained, and readers are given advice about deciding who will design and maintain the website and how. The possibilities of using web design software as opposed to paying someone to do the designing are discussed.
In part three of the book, Stevenson explains how and why a website must be marketed. Getting and maintaining search engine rankings, using web rings and web directories, attracting customers, using mailing lists and a range of other marketing suggestions are explored, before the final section of the book discusses the maintenance issues associated with running a web site.
Stevenson does not paint the running of the website as an easy task, but shows how it can be done, and why it is such an essential part of any modern business. His book is packed with practical examples, screen shots, useful URLs and common sense information.
The Australian Guide to Online Business is an essential resource for any one considering setting up a web site, and for those businesses who believe that they don’t need one.
The Australian Guide to Online Business, by Tony Stevenson
Pearson Education, 2001