When you are a small business looking to create a space online (and it's not your area of expertise), in many cases, less is more. Keep your website simple with only needed information that will not appear outdated or have one functional area that can feature updated items. Often people fail to realize the dedication and time it takes to keep a content heavy and interactive website fresh. You need to spend your time capturing and responding to leads, as well as the other hats you may wear.

To start look through the eyes of the customer to identify what information is really needed on your website. Don't try to be flashy, always focus on filling a need.

Next try to define your business in less than 2 paragraphs. Use bullet points and tag lines to get across the most important messages. People digest content in bite-size portions online.

Always have multiple ways to contact you – contact forms are the easiest way to be contacted and also shield your e-mail address from spiders that might see fit to crawl and add you to their spam list. Depending on your situation include a business address and telephone number.

Come up with one, great promotional opportunity that can be a part of your website always. This makes marketing easy if you just focus on a main promotion that you do not need to update regularly. It can be something like 10% off if they found you via Craigslist or $10 off for all new customers. It's a great way to be acquisition aggressive, while enjoying a tracking mechanism as well.

Some other helpful hints:

- Don't Use Frames

- Always Own Your Domain, Graphics and Content.

- Buy a Domain Made up of Great Search Terms

- Name Pages on the Website with Target Search Terms

- Use Flash Only if You Must – Most Businesses Should Not

- Get a Maintenance Contract with a Reputable Web Designer. This Keeps Costs Down and Makes Changes Easy.