Internet and Online Business


Recent Internet and Online Business Articles

Check Internal Links

By Lane McCulloch |  Apr 18, 2000

Unless your site is a single page, you probably use links as your main navigation tool. You might have links at the top of a page that take the user farth...  Read more

Check External Links

By Lane McCulloch |  Apr 18, 2000

The goal of any e-commerce site is "stickiness," the ability to keep visitors on the site for as long as possible. However, most e-commerce sites also lin...  Read more

Monitor Your Web Site's Downtime

By Lane McCulloch |  Apr 18, 2000

Accessibility is the most critical measure of your Web site's performance. If customers can't access your site, they can't shop; and if they can't shop, t...  Read more

Troubleshoot Download Time Issues

By Lane McCulloch |  Apr 18, 2000

When your site is slow to download, it may not be the server that is causing the delay. Take a careful look at the site itself. Chances are that the probl...  Read more

Understand How Response Time Is Measured

By Lane McCulloch |  Apr 18, 2000

Response time is a product of server performance. Therefore, those tools that track your server activities are the tools that measure response times. Your...  Read more

Tailor Your Content to Your Target Audience

By Russell Shaw |  Apr 14, 2000

Who are your customers? What kind of content do they expect to find on your site? Keep in mind the purpose of your site: Is it an online sales brochure, a...  Read more

Choose Web Site Content from Three Main Categories

By Russell Shaw |  Apr 14, 2000

Keeping in mind who your audience is and what you want your site to do, consider developing content from these three basic categories: company information...  Read more

Create Your Own Web Content

By Russell Shaw |  Apr 14, 2000

You could generate your own text and graphical content by drawing on your existing in-house talent or by hiring outside content creators. Creating your ow...  Read more

Checklist: Choose a Turnkey Solution Provider to Build Your Site

By Delilah Obie |  Apr 13, 2000

If your company has a staff of Web designers and programmers or a budget to hire savvy Internet consultants, you have a broad range of options for buildin...  Read more

Understand What Your Site Content Can Do for You

By Russell Shaw |  Apr 13, 2000

Content is the primary reason that people visit your site. You're writing content to attract and keep visitors on your site (a concept known as "stickines...  Read more

I need a Web site. Should I build it myself or hire someone?

By Bradley Feld |  Apr 12, 2000

Internet in Business mentor Bradley Feld responds to the following question from an inc.com reader: I am starting a non-Web-b...  Read more

Mercenaries vs. Missionaries

Apr 12, 2000

John Doerr, whom Fortune magazine once described as America's "only celebrity venture capitalist," has often said that the personal computer indu...  Read more

Building a Dot-Com from the Ground Up

By Ellen Robinson |  Apr 10, 2000

In a recent television commercial, an elderly woman in the idyllic Italian countryside starts her own e-business and uses the Internet to sell olive oil. ...  Read more

Checklist: Add a Search Engine to Your Site

By Russell Shaw |  Apr 7, 2000

You've invested time and effort to create or acquire content for your Web site, so you'll want to make it easy for your customers to find what they need o...  Read more

Determine Your Need for On-Site Search

By Russell Shaw |  Apr 7, 2000

If your site is very small, a powerful search engine may not be necessary, and you may be able to help your customers find what they need through a compre...  Read more

Understand How On-Site Search Works

By Russell Shaw |  Apr 7, 2000

Learn how on-site search is similar to (and different from) Web searches and find out about the mechanics of on-site searching. Then you'll need to decide...  Read more

Identify Your On-Site Search Requirements

By Russell Shaw |  Apr 7, 2000

Once you understand the type of search options that are available, you'll need to identify your on-site search requirements. Determine You...  Read more

Evaluate Your On-Site Search Engine Options

By Russell Shaw |  Apr 7, 2000

There are freeware/shareware search engines, paid search engines, and specialized search engines for specific site content, such as multimedia or images. ...  Read more

Find the Right On-Site Search Engine

By Russell Shaw |  Apr 7, 2000

Do your homework to find a search engine that's right for your needs. You'll have to evaluate different search options, from downloading freeware to havin...  Read more

Test Potential On-Site Search Engines

By Russell Shaw |  Apr 7, 2000

After you've identified several search engines that may meet your needs, you'll need to put them to the test. Take the time to download, install, and test...  Read more

Decide How You Will Maintain and Update Your On-Site Search Engine

By Russell Shaw |  Apr 7, 2000

A search engine will be of little use if it does not access all your content. Develop a procedure that you can follow to make sure your search engine will...  Read more

Plan for Smooth On-Site Search Engine Operations

By Russell Shaw |  Apr 7, 2000

As you add a search engine to your site, you'll need to ensure its success by placing it in the right location, providing clear instructions for its use, ...  Read more

What kind of software is available for an e-publishing start-up?

Apr 6, 2000

Internet in Business mentor Jakob Nielsen responds to the following question from an inc.com user: I have a keen interest in s...  Read more

Find Out What Web Content Is Working

By Russell Shaw |  Apr 6, 2000

Your Web site is your only face to many of your customers. If you post your original content and forget about it, they will be able to tell. You need to k...  Read more

Spot the Business Problems the Internet Can Solve

By David Johnson |  Apr 5, 2000

There are many reasons to create a Web site to take your business online. You can use your site to reduce your marketing costs to geographically diverse l...  Read more

Identify the Features You Need in a Turnkey Solution

By Delilah Obie |  Apr 5, 2000

Whether you're building a storefront that requires a merchant account and inventory management software to handle sales or just an online brochure-style s...  Read more

Evaluate Your Turnkey Solution Options

By Delilah Obie |  Apr 5, 2000

If you are considering a turnkey solution for creating a Web site, you need to compare features and costs among the available providers. Fi...  Read more

Search for a Turnkey Solution Provider

By Delilah Obie |  Apr 5, 2000

Do your homework to find a turnkey solution that's a good fit from the start. Avoid unexpected fees, restrictions, and service problems that can result fr...  Read more

Decide Whether a Turnkey Solution Is Right for You

By Delilah Obie |  Apr 5, 2000

Claims of implementing a complete Web site in 10 to 15 minutes may be exaggerated, but turnkey Web building solutions do offer a quick and affordable mean...  Read more

Test Your Prospective Turnkey Solution Provider

By Delilah Obie |  Apr 5, 2000

Once you've identified a prospective turnkey solution provider, you need to determine whether it can really perform. Check the Level of Cu...  Read more

Sign Up with a Turnkey Solution Provider

By Delilah Obie |  Apr 5, 2000

Before you sign up for a turnkey solution, it is a good idea to make a list of your requirements. Once you've found the turnkey solution that looks like i...  Read more

Checklist: Create a Content Strategy

By Russell Shaw |  Apr 5, 2000

A Web site is only as good as the content it contains. If you spend all your Web site development resources on building the technology that contains your ...  Read more

Design for Popular Browsers and Connections

By Lane McCulloch |  Apr 1, 2000

Effective banner design starts with recognizing the limitations of the tools that will put your ad in front of your audience: browsers and Internet connec...  Read more

Make Sure that Banner Ad Style Meshes with Audience Sensibilities

By Lane McCulloch |  Apr 1, 2000

So you've researched your target audience's technical sophistication, and you've decided which technology you can safely and effectively use in your banne...  Read more

Design within Standard Banner Ad Specifications

By Lane McCulloch |  Apr 1, 2000

Banner ad design is evolving. As with anything else related to the Web, there are few hard-and-fast rules. However, Web advertising "pioneers" have discov...  Read more