If you were online back in the mid 1990's, you are well aware of the agonizing connection times. You'd wait for what seemed like an eternity for images to load, or even a simple page with different color fonts, or long paragraphs! Those days were certainly very frustrating.

As far as an actual shopping experience? Forget about it! And certainly not a time that most business owners even considered bringing their business online. In fact, most viewed the potential of getting their business online as likely as the Chicago Cubs winning a World Series.

There were no automated web site or shopping cart programs back then. You'd either have to hire someone at an outrageous fee, or know how code yourself. It would cost you several hundreds of dollars just to get someone to put up a single - and pretty poor looking - page, just so that you'd have a web presence. This didn't even provide you with the opportunity to sell anything to your customers online.

Fortunately, things have changed in recent years. In a big way. Instead of that basic single page that you could display to your customers back then, your web site can is so much more today:

1. It's the most effective way to generate sales

Think about it - how much would it cost you to pay a salesperson to be on duty 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year? No need to do so with a web site.

2. Lead Generation

The playing field has been leveled! Even if you operate a small, one person business, you can compete with the largest companies around the globe when it comes to winning over new customers.

3. Build A Customer List

Not only can you generate leads, but you can also entice these folks to give you their email address and build a list of folks that are interested in your products. You can then email these folks on a regular basis with various product offers. You've likely heard it before - "The Money Is In The List!"

4. Market Your Business Around The Globe

Being able to market your business and receive orders from around the world puts you on the same, level playing field as businesses that are much larger than yours. Getting orders from around the world is a great feeling!

5. Conduct Market Research

You can now spy on your competition in ways you've never been able to before. There are many legal tools at your disposal to find out just how your competition is marketing their products. Armed with this information, you'll be able to craft your own unique marketing plan.

6. Test Your Market

With your web site, you can easily test new marketing pieces and pricing as often as you'd like to. This is a great advance over the old days of print only marketing.

7. Payment Systems

No longer do you have to wait for a check in the mail. These days, anyone can accept credit cards. Your customer's card is charged and the money is automatically deposited into your bank before you ship the goods.

8. Superior Communications

You can use your web site (amongst many other online methods) to communicate company developments - all within seconds.

9. Customer Support

You can dedicate part of your web site as a customer support department. FAQs are a great way to provide your customers with immediate access to the most frequently asked questions. You can back that up with an online chat function as well as email support as well.

10. Product Delivery

You no longer have to rely on the USPS or UPS to get your product to your customers. Many products you can develop require no shipping - e-books, and MP3 Audios for example - are available for instant download.

Without question, there is no reason why even the smallest business can't be online competing with the big guys these days.