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For those in the Internet business the availability of their web site is a major concern. The cost of downtime for web businesses can amount to $10,000 an hour. And this is without counting the losses caused by missed opportunities and lost sales. Losses in image and credibility these businesses suffer because eventual downtime is even harder to quantify.

Many of today’s web hosting providers offer 99% uptime for their web servers. If you have already chosen one or if you are planning to use one with such a high uptime should you be concerned on the whole matter anyway?

The Internet has opened a whole New World of opportunity for all of us. With the vast amount of information available at your fingertips, it has never been easier to communicate your message to the world.

A web site will enable you to create your own home on the World Wide Web. Your home may be as simple or dynamic as you’d like and is only limited by your imagination.

Although designing a great web site is an important part of developing a successful online business, it is only one small part of an overall plan.

The great debate: how much copy you should have on your site, particularly on the home page?

Do you subscribe to the idea that a picture is worth a thousand words–and therefore images, not a lot of text, should be the main thrust of your home page? Or do words have more power to capture a visitor’s attention and compel them to buy–meaning you should aim for powerful copy?

As a graphic designer, my natural inclination is to create graphically-rich, light text websites. Since I’m focused on what a site looks like visually, I like using impressive images, bold splashes of color all over the page, and not very much copy. The end result is an attractive, visually-appealing site, with very few words.

1) A marketing necessity

I still hear it said from time to time that you really do not need a website if you are a private practice professional. I disagree. In today’s world, I think you are selling yourself short if you do not have a website, because you are not using one of the most powerful ways in which to market you and your services.

2) Websites are affordable

When I had my very first website in 1997, the domain name by itself cost me almost two hundred dollars. Today you can get a domain name and a month of hosting for just over eight dollars.