5 Reasons going online can help boost your small business.

1. Stand out from the competition. Online you can be compared side-by-side with your biggest competitor. That means there is a tremendous opportunity to identify what your business does better than the rest. "A website is a great equalizer".

2. Establish credibility. This is particularly important for small, relatively unknown firms. For example, a family-run restaurant may want to highlight how long they've been in business so new customers feel they're discovering a hidden gem.

3. Provide in-depth information. Use the website to provide background, testimonials, directions, demonstrations or other content that speaks to your target audience.

4. Enhance customer relations. Emailing the company, placing an order, or making a reservation can all be done easily online. "Figure out what your customers need and then build your customer relations based on that".

5. Increase customer spending. Ultimately you are trying to build a business, not just boost online sales, which means using the site to keep customers informed and make them feel happy about spending more money. This is the end goal.