Everyone should have one: ten basic elements for your business Web site.

• Author: Costabilo, Frank P., Jr.
• Position: PERFECTLY FRANK

Most of us have had the experience of visiting a bad business Web site.

Within seconds, you discover that there is no telephone number, no contact information and little or no explanation of exactly what the company does.

We all have the same reaction. It is annoying. It is discouraging. It is frustrating.

Why is it that most small- and medium-sized businesses do not put a higher priority on offering a sophisticated Web site to their customers? The knee-jerk response is often cost, but the real answer is intellectual laziness by the ownership group. These owners elect to not invest in a quality Web site because they believe they can get away without one.

It is not 1996, folks, it is 2009. For those owners unwilling to listen, we're nine years into the 21st century.

Every business on the planet needs an informative Web site that is easy to navigate and designed to make doing business with the company an effortless affair for the customer.

I have compiled a list of 10 basic elements your business Web site needs. Here's what you need to do:

1. Display your address, telephone number, physical address and contact information prominently. People still feel uncomfortable if they don't know where you are located.

2. Provide a brief overview of what your company does for your customers.

3. Divide your company by departments and offer an in-depth description of what each department does for your customers specifically. Offer samples of your work.

4. Share pricing information whenever possible. If this is not possible, offer a telephone number to the customer so that he or she can call someone and get pricing quickly.

5. Illustrate industry-approved certifications and association memberships.

6. Provide a list of references.

7. Develop case studies and client testimonials, and make them freely available on your Web site in an Adobe PDF format.

8. Add an online catalog (where appropriate) and encourage customers to shop online whenever possible.

9. Keep an updated archive of industry-related news on your Web site. This makes your site a frequent return destination and increases the likelihood that a customer will bookmark your site and visit...