Whenever I meet a potential client that has a business they’d like to tell me about, the inevitable question follows:  “Do you have a website?” You’d be amazed how often this answer is, “Uh…”

It’s baffling to me that people don’t really find a web presence as important as it should be. At some point, no matter what type of business you’re about to start, establishing a website or presence on the internet will be vital. These days, almost every company has a web page. If you still advertise your small business only in print only, you’re just not paying attention to current trends. A professional web presence is a must for a small business, especially a start-up.

Things to keep in mind:

• Not only should the company’s webpage be clear, professional and useful, but it should contain the company profile along with any relevant information about products, services, or opportunities that your company is offering. If it’s a restaurant, post your menu. If it’s a company developing a product, list basic information about your development or management team. If it’s a law office, post partner profiles or client lists (if they agree to it, mind you).

• Seek outside assistance from a reliable web designer. Currently, it’s not hard to find one. Throw a rock on Craigslist and you’ll find someone willing to do quality work at a reasonable price. The right designer can advise you not only on the layout and the structure of the website, but can also help with adding credit to your domain.

• Speaking of domains, your domain name is extremely important. If you can’t find the one you want, don’t settle for a “dot net” or a hyphen to separate/connect the words. For example, if “www.variousthings.com” is taken, don’t go and get “www.various-things.com” instead. Think of the name of the business and ask yourself, “Which is more important, my web presence or my company name?” If you can change the company name to whatever domain you can acquire, it might be in your best interest to do that. If not, then sit down with the web designer and ask them what they think would be the best option.

• Another thing that would help your business to prosper is being active on social networking like LinkedIn, Twitter, or Facebook. You can create a positive image of your company with a little exposure. This of course depends on the TYPE of company you’re doing. Obviously an accounting firm doesn’t need a Facebook page, but might need a LinkedIn profile.  Be smart about how you use social networking.

• There is no point of having a web page if no one knows about it. Make sure to consider consult someone regarding search engine optimization (SEO). You’ll find this to be worth both the effort and any additional costs since the high traffic on your company’s page will have you placing higher on searches and thus improving the exposure you can achieve. Again, this may not be important for all businesses, but usually it’s a benefit.

• Always remembers to keep your web page fresh and dynamic with current information. There is nothing worse than out of date price list or previous address of the company on your web page. This can give the impression that the business might be unreliable and unprofessional. It can also give the impression that you’re not that tech savvy. By keeping a fresh and resourceful web page, you have a better chance of making an impression on potential clients without even talking with them.

I really believe that websites and a web presence have become the modern day business card. Once upon a time, we’d exchange cards with a possible business associate and if that card was a glorified handwritten post-it note, the chances of future business would probably be nil. Nowadays, we check web addresses and URL’s for the company’s information and if we discover that the website is just a place holder page… Well, that might not be the best impression for a future partnership.  Just keep all of this in mind when you get to that on the to-do list of, “Getting My Business Started.”