What do you mean, you don't have a website for your small business? Now that the Internet age is well and truly upon us, small business owners who haven't yet realised what a well-designed website could do for their business are getting harder and harder to find. If you're one of them, though, read on to find out how starting your own website could help your small business grow.

A small business website widens your client base

And it doesn't just increase it a little bit either - it increases it a lot! If your business currently gets most of its custom from pass-by trade, or from word of mouth, you could be amazed at the amount of new business your own website could bring you. When you get your website online, you're no longer restricting yourself to your own local area: your small business website can be seen be people all over the world, and any one of them could become your next customer.

The internet has made world wide trade easier and more common than ever before. Unless your products are exceptionally large or heavy, it's possible to ship them anywhere in the world relatively inexpensively, and thanks to online payment providers such as paypal and worldpay, you can accept payments from all over the world too. If you're selling services it's easier: you can communicate with your international clients by email, and send them your completed work the same way.

A small business website increases your marketing options.

Once you have your own small business website, a whole new world of marketing options will open up to you. Email campaigns, newsletters, pay per click advertising - all highly targeted methods of communicating with your potential clients. Not only is internet marketing relatively easy to do, it also tends to be cheaper than conventional marketing methods, which leaves you with more money to boost your small business in other ways. Selling online with a small business website

Owning your own small business website also makes it possible to sell your goods and services online.

Adding an ecommerce solution to your website allows you to sell almost anything, and as shopping online becomes more and more popular, NOT providing online services could mean missing out on a large share of the market. Shopping online is popular with consumers because it's easy: a few clicks of a mouse, and the product they're looking for is delivered straight to their door. Why not make it easy for them to buy that product from you - through your small business website?

Amber McNaught is co-owner of Hot Igloo Productions Ltd. - the small business specialists. Hot Igloo offer a range of services to businesses, including website design, public relations, internet marketing, copywriting and more. Visit their website at: http://www.hotigloo.co.uk