Internet and email is vital to smaller businesses.

The Internet has revolutionised the way people do business. Regardless of whether you want to surf the internet for information, buy and sell products or services online, or just communicate by email, having some form of internet connection is essential, not a luxury.

This does not mean that your business will require a flashy website, or that you need the latest, faster broadband connection available. What it does mean, however, is that keeping your business 100% offline is no longer a sensible option, at the very least your business should be contactable by email. If you haven't already you should seriously consider buying your own domain name to receive that email too.

Even the smallest business can and should own a domain name.

There are three very good reasons why every business should buy a domain name.

1. Credibility.

While it is possible to register an address with one of the large POP3 mail providers, for example yahoo, hotmail, fastmail or the new Gmail services, the problem with using the email address yourcompanyname@hotmail.com rather than info@yourbusinessname.co.uk is that anyone can set up the former for free, however customers can check who set up the latter.

In every major survey carried out for both business to business and business to consumer, the vast majority of people said they would have more trust of an organisation with its own domain name rather than one that did not.

2. Branding

A few years ago the argument was "A domain name will add to your brand". Today, consumers and business customers expect businesses to have a domain name. If you don't have one, your branding is missing something important in the eyes of many potential customers.

3. Ownership

When you buy your own domain name, you acquire your own little piece of the internet. Nobody else can use that name or take it away from you without your permission. You can also change from one Internet host to another maintaining your internet and email addresses.

Anyone can buy a domain name for no significant outlay. A .co.uk domain name normally costs less than £5 per year to register and own, and .com, .biz, and .info domain names are usually available for less than £10 per year. With such low costs of ownership, there really is no good reason why even the smallest business should not invest in a domain name to add credibility to their email communication, to add to their brand name, and to protect their business identity.

Every business should have an online presence

An online presence is a business imperative because Internet use is an unstoppable trend. Even if you have a traditional business, you'll lose valuable customers without an online presence. People routinely search the internet for goods and services with their computers instead of picking up the yellow pages or taking a trip into the town centre. If your business isn't on the Web, those customers will likely choose another company to do business with who is.

This doesn't mean that you necissarily need a flashy website with an online store. A simple, well laid out homepage that explains to potential customers what your business does, where you do it and how they can contact you is a valuable asset to have, and the cost of this sort of marketing is very low compared to most other methods.

UpSource Ltd Internet Services

UpSource Ltd offer consultation, installation and configuration Internet Services. We can help you find the best ISP for your needs, to give you the connection type and speed that you need and to register a domain name for your email to come in. We can also set up and configure the internet modem, router, firewalls at your site on a fixed fee basis. UpSource Ltd can assist you in the selection and registration of a domain name for your business, and configure your systems to use that domain name for your email communications.

If you wish to switch from one ISP to another, UpSource Ltd can reconfigure your existing equipment to access the new provider. We can also install and configure security hardware and software to protect your network from external attacks such as hackers and internet-based worms.

If you want to have an online presence, we can also design a simple low cost web page that will let your customers know who you are, what you do and how to contact you. If you require a more complex web site with advanced features, we can help you select a professional web developer with the skills, experience and tools to build that website for you.