For instance, it allows remote access to your business from wherever you are. Chaz Popovich, vice president of N.Y.-based OSI Technologies Inc., says his company does much of its technology-consulting work remotely.

The firm also uses site-tracking software to know on a daily basis whether its own Web-site traffic is coming from advertising, search engines or directory listings.

Doing business on the Web also means making online presentations, sending electronic newsletters and billing online, says Paula Majerowicz, president of eCorexperience, a Web-design consulting firm in Dutchess, N.Y. In addition, the Internet can provide businesses with a virtual office environment so employees don't have to go to the office every day, she adds.

A business without a Web presence could be losing business. "Many of our small-business clients still perceive e-commerce [as something] for large companies, but it's not," says Ms. Majerowicz.