Getting Online 
Do you want to get your business online?
As you start your business, or think over your business ideas, you may be considering having a website. You can use it to market to your potential customers, collect sales orders and payments, and to keep in touch with customers.
In 2009, over 18 million households in the UK had Internet access. This means 70 per cent of household have internet access,* not counting public usage at libraries, internet cafe's and at work.
Sixty-four per cent of all recent Internet users had purchased goods
or services over the Internet. Of these, 83 per cent (26 million) had
purchased within the last three months, with little difference between
the proportions of men and women who made recent purchases.
Of those men who had purchased goods or services online in the last three months, the most
popular item was films and music (52 per cent). However, the most
popular purchases made by women were clothes or sporting goods (54 per
cent). Women were twice as likely to purchase food or groceries online
than men (30 per cent compared with 15 per cent).
Age is also a factor in the types of goods and services purchased
online. While the younger age groups favoured purchasing clothes and
sports goods, the most popular purchase for the oldest age group were
books, magazines, newspapers or e-learning material.*
As you can see from the statistics above, having a website can mean that you have the possibility to reach a huge audience, what's more it can be done to suit your budget, and more money does not equal better effectiveness of your website!
*Information published 28 August 2009, source: National Statistics Online, www.statistics.gov.uk