If you don't have a website, then you might not realize what it can do for you. Maybe you think that because your business is too small – or maybe you don't even have a business there wouldn't be any point!

If you have a website then you will know why it's so important for communication. If you don't then here some of the many reasons why you need a website.

Whatever your situation is, though, here are few reasons why you need a website.

1. PEOPLE SEARCH FOR YOU ONLINE.

Sooner or later, someone's going to type your name or business into a search engine. What do you want them to find? Nothing, or worse yet, your competition. These are people who want to find you. They are looking for what you are selling, and if you don't have a website then you're letting them down – they expect to find you online. For many people, you might as well not exist if you can't be found with a search engine. Not having a website is like not bothering to get listed in the phone book. Can you run your business without a phone? In this "Information Age" we live in being online is vital.

2. WEBSITES CAN COST NEXT TO NOTHING.

Up until a few years ago it cost a lot to run a website – but those days are long gone. You can even try them for 30 days for FREE. Really, it's never been cheaper for you to have a website than it is today.

3. WEBSITES ARE GREAT ADVERTISING.

Whatever you're advertising – services, products or just yourself – a website is a great way to do it. Every other kind of advertising going costs a premium, especially if you want to target a specific kind of person, and there's no guarantee that they're paying attention. Websites are like brochures that are free to reproduce, interactive, and quickly distributed to people who are already looking for them. No advertising medium even comes close to the ease-of-use and effectiveness of a website.

4. A WEBSITE HAS A GLOBAL PRESENCE.

On the web, it doesn't matter whether someone is next door to you or on the other side of the world, they can see your website just the same as anyone else can, and it doesn't cost you or them any extra. Phone and mailings both cost enormous amounts long-distance, but your website lets you send information anywhere without any extra effort or expense. You can make friends and contacts in places you've never been and will never go – suddenly, working globally is no more effort than working locally.

5. YOUR WEBSITE CAN MAKE YOU MONEY.

There's a lot of money on the web, and it's not hard to get some – the longer you're online, the bigger your share can get. If you have something to sell, you can sell it worldwide, thanks to credit cards. Doing business online eliminates almost every overhead there is: all you need to do is have the goods. If you've written something useful, you can put it out there with a few ads. You won't get rich overnight, but you can set up a steady trickle of income... and there's no limit to the number of trickles you can set up.

6. YOUR WEBSITE CAN SAVE YOU TIME.

Giving out information takes time, whether it's on the phone, or in brochures, or even if it's just emailing your family. Websites are designed to save you time. All your family and friends can read your online blog, but you only had to write it once. Customers can see your whole product catalog without ever needing to talk to you or visit you. This is the power of the web: things on it are written only once, but can be downloaded endlessly – a good website runs itself, and keeps being useful to people for much longer than you'd expect.