With the rapid expansion of the digital economy, the web site is conceivably the most powerful marketing and sales tool you can employ.

Yet, despite the highly competitive, global business climate, many businesses have yet to take advantage of this popular technology.

Consider these facts:

• There are more than 1,022,800,000 Internet users worldwide. The U.S. has the highest number of Internet users in the world with 205,300,000-plus ‘surfers', equating to 68.6 per cent of the country's population. (Source: http://www.internetworldstats.com/)
  
  
• By 2010, e-commerce in the U.S. is expected to account for $316 billion (U.S.) in sales, or 13 per cent of overall retail sales. (Source: http://www.forrester.com/)
  
  
• Canada-based online sales exceeded $39.2 (CDN) million in 2005, and that number is expecting to grow. (Source: http://www.e-com.ic.gc.ca/)

Some business owners rely almost exclusively on business cards and phonebook listings to introduce their companies to potential clients, and claim they would gain little or no benefit from a web site.

Indeed, business cards have played key roles in marketing and promoting businesses since the 19th century, and are without doubt one of the least expensive forms of advertising available.

Also, phonebooks have been helping consumers find companies for decades, and continue to have their place.

But with the growing number of people turning to the Internet to retrieve information and make purchases, you need to consider what a web site can do for you, your business and your customers.