Hello this is Dan Collins, a Castle Rock web designer and certified usability expert.

To begin your internet marketing strategy as a small business owner, your first step is inevitably creating a website. This medium presents a good starting point for modernizing any business and bringing it to the next level. Finding the right web designer can be a hassle within itself, so in order to make an informed decision you should first ascertain exactly what you need.

You have to get a feel for what components and functions are needed from the site. Generally, many businesses require only a standard website. Akin to an online business card, this is a straightforward website that has a few pages detailing the concept of the business, the location, what services are provided and how to make contact. As there aren't any advanced features specified, your developer would not need to worry too much about any complicated coding and can just concentrate on making the website look great.

What kind of advanced features can be implemented?

Once it is determined that the website requires a CMS (Content Management System) the development side of the website becomes important. There are two main reasons to employ a CMS. Firstly you want to be able to update, create and edit your own pages, taking away the need to constantly employ a web developer.

Content can be modified with what is known as a WSYWIG (what you see is what you get) editor that also allows simple formatting of text and negates the need for knowledge of HTML. A CMS will cost extra to integrate with the back end of a website. However, in the long run you could save money on maintenance.

A CMS is no substitute for a true web professional and they have their limitations based on the task they need to perform. Only certain actions can be performed with a CMS, such as updating text, images and data. They can only do what they are programmed to do. So changes to do with website design and layout or added functionality that hasn't been written into the specification will require a web designer.

A CMS can also work as a back end database. The kinds of websites that require this usually provide some sort of online service or listing. This could be a online portfolio of projects or a database of local businesses. A CMS would be needed to create and modify records without needing any database knowledge. Your developer will need lots of database knowledge of course and such a job will require one who is a competent coder.

What other features that may require special attention?

Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is mission critical, if you expect your potential clients to be able to find you in the search engines. The internet is an over-saturated medium and to get your foot in the door may require special services to hopefully increase your rank within the search results. Google is the number 1 search engine, but SEO is a vast topic better left for its own article. This is a service that many web designers will provide as well and if done well can be the difference between success and failure.

Putting all this information isn't is difficult as you may think. You want the best website for your small business and the more knowledge you are armed with increases your ability to guide the web designer in the right direction.

If you would like to know more about web design for small businesses please visit my website at www (dot) dancollinsdesign (dot) com.

Dan Collins is an conversion expert and a freelance web designer. He provides professional solutions for small businesses through clean, modern web design.