In the past, when your customers were looking for a product or service, their easiest option would be to pull out the Yellow Pages to search for a store or company in their area that provided the product or service they were in need of. Sometimes this supplied a name and phone number. Sometimes, an address. On more rare occasions, a picture advertisement with a list of services or products.

With the Internet today, that same customer can go to a search engine or index and be presented with a list of businesses that fit their needs, with links to their web pages. Those web pages are loaded with product pictures and price lists, maps and phone numbers, and even online Shopping Cart system which allows the customer to order products and services--all without ever having to leave the house or office.

Perhaps you have a "service" oriented practice such as accounting, law, or medicine that's already doing well and you're wondering why you should burden yourself with the added expense of a Web site. Simply put, not having a web site will soon be like not having a listing in your local Yellow Pages. In the Web world, this is referred to as a "corporate presence." Even if your best business comes by word-of-mouth, your potential customers may want to check you out. A well-designed, professional web site can give you added visibility and credibility. Especially if you provide a public service and your gold is to get information to a large number of people almost instantaneously. Additionally, the cost of maintaining a Web site is probably the most cost effective advertising you'll ever do.

The Internet is one of the first places a person who has access to a computer will go to get information. As one source put it, "the Internet 'IS' information." Whether it's information on Hepatitis C or a specific product or service, the World Wide Web is *the* place your customers look to for information.