Online retail spending is predicted to reach 25% of all retail spending in 2009 or around 78 billion pounds in the UK alone. The fact is many businesses are completely missing out on any potential income from online sales by not having a website. A website is a powerful marketing tool and a sign of professionalism. Most customers expect to see your website address and email on your business cards and promotional materials and some will actually prefer to learn more about your products and services by reading your website at their leisure.

If you are still not sure about establishing an online business here are just a few advantages of going online:

• Less cost investment than conventional business. There is significant office and transportation cost reductions and also savings in set-up and operational costs. You don’t need to pay shop assistants or rent commercial high-street premises and by selling directly to the customers you can cut out the middleman.
• Minimal start-up time. An experienced website designer can have your online business up and running within a few weeks, especially if you already have an existing business.
• Freedom to live and work where you like. You can travel while running your online business, work from home, or even manage multiple businesses at the same time.
• You can automate your order and payment processes, inventory management, and streamline your customer support.
• Your web site can be accessed from anywhere in the world and a global audience means increased sales opportunities. Make sure your web site can process payment information so you can also compete with larger businesses by being open 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
• Search engine optimized websites pay themselves off very quickly as long as they provide customers with valuable products or services. You can also improve your website by using the data gathered by tracking customer purchases and website traffic statistics.
• Online business is environmentally friendly. Telecommuting reduces pollution and you can put invoices, newsletters and catalogues online to save paper.

Online selling is a good choice you if you have a catalogue of well-defined products or services that can be sold without requiring a sales person, fixed prices for your products or services, and products or services that can be delivered within short lead time.

Once you have decided if online business is for you it is recommended to read a beginners guide to online business for some great tips and valuable information. If you launch a website that disappoints your customers you risk damaging your reputation and losing sales, so careful consideration should be taken each step of the way from picking your domain name to choosing a website designer.