So, you think you're ready to take your business online.  The Web can be a resource that grows your business and expands your customer base.  Below is a general guide to help you get started.

KNOW WHO YOU ARE.  Many businesses don't bother to examine what they sell, who their customers are and why their customers choose them.  You need to have a good idea of what you are and what you do to communicate effectively on the Internet.

KNOW WHERE YOU'RE GOING.  Not all Web sites are created equal.  Some Web sites merely provide information about a business and contact information.  Other Web sites include facility pictures, staff biographies, product displays and product-ordering features.  Know what you want your site to do.

CHOOSE A STRONG DOMAN NAME.  Probably your best choice for a domain name is your business's exact name plus .com.  If that name is taken, make your domain name something you do.  For example, if Bakerflooring.com is not an available address, try "Evansville-flooring.com."  Stay away from numbers and dashes.  Stick with a .com domain.

REGISTER YOUR DOMAIN NAME.  Domain names are registered on an annual basis through domain registration agents.  Expect to pay anywhere from $10 to $45 annually for your registration.  Inexpensive domain registrars include Register.com or GoDaddy.com.

FIND AN INTERNET SERVICE PROVIDER (ISP).  You will find many different features and costs; but if you're just starting out, the basic package more than likely will suffice.  It's probably a good idea when starting out to select a local company where you can get face-to-face, responsive service in the first few critical months.  Get at least 100 MB of disk space, 3-4 GB of monthly transfer, e-mail accounts, e-mail management tools, 24x7 tech support and daily backups.

BUILD THE WEB SITE.  Your ISP might have a Web site template that you can use to launch your online business.  Another solution could be building the Web site yourself using an existing, inexpensive e-commerce program like Microsoft FrontPage.  The downside is that it's time consuming, and you do have to learn some computer code.  The advantages are many.  You can build a site that gives your business a distinctive presentation.

Yet another Web site-building option is a point-and-click program.  These programs require you to fill in some information fields and then the program automatically creates a Web site using the information you provided.  If you're not looking for your Web site to do much more than provide basic product and contact information, a program like SiteCube may be for you.  Finally, you can pay a Web site designer to create a site.  To have a custom-designed Web site built affordably, consider using a computer science student; students tend to be a lot less expensive than more experienced Web designers.

ESTABLISH YOUR PAYMENT OPTIONS.  To sell your product through your Web site, you will need credit card processing capabilities.  If you don't already have a merchant account, establish one with Internet payment processing features.  For a smaller business , a less costly place to set up a merchant account is PayPal.  It can process any credit card and has fraud protection.

LET PEOPLE KNOW YOU'RE OPEN FOR BUSINESS ON THE INTERNET.  Good placement on the popular search engines like Google and Yahoo is necessary for online success, and there are a couple of things you can do to facilitate that.  First, submit your Web address to major search engines and request that your site be visited by them and then be included in their users' search results.  An easy way to accomplish this is to use a submission program like Idealpositions.com or Nettsolutions.com.

As you get your Web site up and running, it may be worthwhile to use pay-for-click programs that will get your Web address listed more quickly with search engines.  Some of these programs are Google.com and Yahoo.com.  You pick key terms that you think customers will use when searching for your type of business.  For example, you might choose "Evansville" and "florists."  When a potential customer types in those search terms, your site will be given preference in the results.  You pay every time someone clicks on your listing through the search engine.

VISIT YOUR SITE REGULARLY.  Visit you Web site at least once a week to check things out.  See how quickly it loads, if the links are working, and if you encounter any problems making a test purchase.  You don't want to lose a sale because your Web site is down!