Websites 'can help small businesses'

18th April 2008

Selling through a website can give small enterprises a sales boost, according to one industry expert.

John De Groot, managing director of StartupCo, commented that acquiring a web presence can be a cost-effective way of increasing revenue and winning more customers.

"For some small businesses, sales through a website can offer low investment growth opportunity, with potentially a high return on that investment," said Mr De Groot.

And smaller companies should not be deterred by security concerns, the managing director maintained.

Good practice in the industry has reached the level where enterprises can be sure that if they stay with reputable providers of web shopping cards, payment encryption systems and merchant accounts, the level of risk will be reduced.

Meanwhile, Gordon Lishman, director general of Age Concern, has this week called for websites to cater more readily to older web users.

He claimed that the web is biased towards younger people, despite the fact that many consumers over the age of 50 are active uses of online resources.