Introduction

In today’s business environment, establishing a website is not an option – it is a must. Approximately 50 percent of small and medium-sized businesses in the United States currently have a website, and that number is expected to rise significantly over the next several years. In fact, according to International Data Corp., the number of small businesses with their own websites is growing at a rate of 27.6% annually. This means that the importance of a website for small businesses will only continue to increase over the next several years.

Individual Internet users are also increasingly using the web as families, teams, groups and associations continue to move online. Home Internet usage is rising while access and hosting prices are dropping, creating an environment that allows virtually everyone to establish a professional, reliable website.

Whether for individual or business use, a website can have a multitude of purposes, each of which has its own technical requirements. Your website requirements are an important consideration to determine before creating a site of your own, as you will need to ensure access to the corresponding tools required. Consider, for example, the tools required to build these different types of websites:

• Individual/personal website: Individual Internet users now use websites for a wide range of functions, including for photo sharing, coordinating group activities and more. Services like these typically require advanced tools such as photo albums that need to integrate seamlessly into the rest of the website.
• Brochure/company information: Although often simple to build and maintain, these sites still require graphics, templates, forms and feedback options. 
• Public relations/marketing: Aside from the requirements of a simple website, these sites often require marketing tools like search engine optimization tools.
• Ecommerce: Implementing e-commerce features not only requires a website, but a shopping cart, payment gateway and integration with these services as well.

Web development efforts related to establishing an online presence can be costly, even for individuals and small businesses. In fact, research by the Yankee Group estimates that the average cost of developing a business website is close to $1500 USD.

Possibly the best way to lower and consolidate the costs inherent in establishing a web presence is to use an online website building tool. This greatly reduces the costs involved in establishing a website and, if the right solution is used, ensures you will always have access to the latest site design features and technologies. In the case of websites for small businesses and self-employed individuals, using an online website building tool also allows you to invest your time and money in your core strengths.