Deciding that you need a website, whether it's a revamp of an existing site, or a completely new one, is the easy bit!

Getting your website right is much more challenging - but with a few valuable marketing techniques up your sleeve, the process is much more straightforward. Most often forgotten is that your website is an important part of your marketing mix and given that its potential target audience, on the web, is huge - it's critical to get it right.

There are 2 main types of website:

1. Information only, like a brochure but online;
2. E-commerce, selling products or services via your website over the Internet.

The first thing to remember for both is that the website is an extension of other marketing activity and materials, so its branding, design and feel must match those other communications. Once that is clear in your mind, the style of the development falls into place more quickly.

The second is to choose your website developer carefully! You will need a good relationship with them whichever type of site you choose to develop and if they don't have empathy with your business and what you're hoping to achieve with the site, it won't work.

Prepare a brief which makes a note of the aims and objectives of the planned site, a basic specification (including things such as look and feel, number of pages, do you need content management?) to help you and your potential supplier agree on a design.

Information Only Websites

You're really trying to use your website as a brochure so in many ways the process is very similar to designing a piece of literature. The main difference is your target audience, which is potentially much bigger than you may be used to, and how you want your website to be used.

If it's only a back-up to your other material, or a reference point for your customers or suppliers, then all you need to do is ensure that the website address appears on all of your other communications.

If you want people to "discover" you while trawling the Internet for information about the products and services in your sector, then you will need to look at "optimising" your site to be found in search engines like Google. So in addition to putting its address on all other materials, you will need an Internet Marketing plan to make this happen.

An Internet Marketing Plan is like any other marketing plan, but includes looking at online techniques such as:

• Building up links to your site with other "good" web sites.
• Considering if you need to advertise (e.g. with Google "AdWords") which includes "pay per click" or "banner" advertising.
• Regularly updating content so that the site is fresh, which search engines like.

E-Commerce Websites

All of the above still applies, but to make a success of your on-line business, particularly if you're not already nationally or globally known, you will need to consider online advertising as well as "optimising" your website so people find you when they search.

The design and layout of your site is critical if you want your customers to buy online. The customer journey needs to be simple and without too many pages to go through. Think about explaining the benefits of each product that you list or sell, rather than just the features. Then make it easy for them to click the "buy" button and commit to a purchase.

Your website developer should be able to advise you on how to set up payment systems, refunds, and optimising your site for sales. If they can't, you will need to think about finding a more experienced developer in the field of e-commerce.

Finally, make sure you can cope! Small businesses, in particular, often find themselves overwhelmed by the response when they launch a new website, as the target audience is suddenly much larger than it's been before. Your systems should be robust and able to manage multiple orders and enquiries, otherwise you risk letting your business down with poor customer service.

Whichever way you look at it, the Internet is here to stay, so have fun getting your business "out there" and taking on the global marketplace!