And for me, the confusion that these people feel is frustrating.  Does it really have to be this way?  Should these intelligent, articulate business owners being feeling left out in the cold, not know the “right” decision to make?

We are at a place (in the western world at least) where access to technology has never been so plentiful and the opportunity to establish and operate a business so real for so many people – BUT – it seems that jargon, “technology snobbery” and an over-abundance of options is landing many small business owners in a quagmire of decisions.

Should I have a website or a blog? Or both?

Is WordPress, Typepad or Blogger the best option? What about Drupal, Business Catalyst or proprietary CMS?

Should I upgrade to the new version of MS Office or look at one of the new web suites available from organisations like Google?

What should I use for my online shop?  Paypal or bank for credit card processing?

What do I do to ensure that my business is findable on search engines?  Should I hire a SEO expert? (What is SEO in the first place?)

What is VOIP and how do I take advantage of it?

These are just some of the technology choices confronting small business owners.  When there is limited time to operate your business and achieve a good level of online and offline success, dedicating time to deciphering these questions can seem like being stuck between the proverbial rock and hard place.

If you are like my online friend Rosa Say you might be asking yourself something like she did in a post called Learning 101 in Web 2.0 and Globalization 3.0-

Innovation-speak gone nutso… I’m confused too. What does it all mean, and do we really have to learn it?

But is success in the online world just about the technology?

In my opinion the answer is NO!  My experience, and the experience of many others, shows that having a successful business in the online world is more about developing conversations with your market or community and less about what technology you use.

Does your market really care about the technology?  If so then you are probably already spending time keeping up with the latest technology.  (You may even be contributing to the conversations that are confusing other business owners).

Hugh Macleod over at GapingVoid got it spot on in this post -

The web is not about technology. The web is not about a new media to market one’s wares in. And the web is certainly not about you.

Remember the following line, first coined by Jeff Jarvis; you will need to rely on it for the rest of your life:

The web is about people.

And he also added :

The end result of this is, with the advent of the internet and various forms of social software, suddenly highly savvy networks of people are springing up in their millions. They’re talking to each other. With or without your permission.

Read that last sentence again – the one about the fact that conversations are happening with or without you.

If you are a business owner then there is something I want you to do today – STOP listening to the experts about what is in and what is not, what you should be doing to be on the first page of Google results or what you just have to do to have an internet business that allows you to retire (those things may or may not be worthwhile).

What I want you to start doing is finding a way to have conversations with your marketplace via some sort of online platform.  It doesn’t have to be perfect, expensive, pretty, or “in”.  What it does need to be is active, interesting and thoughtful.

This is enough of me ranting for now.  In the meantime I am interested in what you think about the demands that the world of technology has on you and your business.  Is it working for or against you?

Designing, or redesigning, a web presence for a small business can be an exercise in overwhelm for many business owners. There always seem to be more things to think about and more questions to ask than there are hours in the day.

Unfortunately there are few definitive lists of must dos for all businesses. The approach that you take is really dependent on you, your business, your clients and their expectations. So what I have tried to do here is offer you a snap-shot of some of the things you need to address and 3 questions that most visitors to your site will ask themselves, either explicitly or implicitly.

Basic Structures of a Functional and Useful Small Business Website

• Establish Credibility and Expertise
  • Valuable Content
  • Professional Look and Feel
    • Fast, Simple and Classy
  • Who You Are

• Showcase Products and Services
  • Clearing Identify the Business
  • Demonstrate a clear solution to a perceived need
  • Services Outline
  • Products listing or e-Store
  • Reports or e-products

• Findability
  • Fresh Content
  • Keywords in Context
  • Structure of the Site
    • No Frames
    • Fast Simple Images
    • Minimal or no Flash-based animation
    • CSS Based
    • Robot.txt and sitemap
  • Incoming Connections

• Repeat Visitors
  • Fresh Content
  • Valuable Content
  • Subscription
  • Conversations
  • Community

• Contact
  • Contact Details
  • CRM (customer relationship management) tools/database

Download a PDF copy of this mindmap by click on this image

These are just some of the things that need to be addressed in a functional website and there will always be more. I invite you to share, via the comments, the elements that you feel are important to a functional website.

Once the site is in place, or it is in the draft stage, I suggest you step into the visitors shoes and ask these 3 questions.

• Does this business understand me?
• Do I like them?
• Do they have something that I need/want?

Do you know any sites that answer these 3 questions well?

The ball is back in your court. Do what you can to make your site as functional and useful as possible without throwing bucket loads of money or time at it. If you can find some colleagues, friends or a trusted advisor who understands this stuff then buy them coffee, a meal or whatever it takes to pick there brain. It will mean that you end up with a website that is more than just a glorified brochure.