It's not unusual for small or medium-sized businesses either to not have a website, or to only have a very basic, simple online presence, the odd bit of information on a single, plain page. If that's true of your company, then you're certainly not in a unique situation - many of your rivals may be in the same boat, so it would be fair to say that you're not falling behind them by not having a better website.

But is standing still enough? Is getting by a worthy substitute for moving forward? Perhaps. And if you feel that way - maybe you're happy with your lot, maybe you're not looking to remain in that line of work much longer - then this article might not be for you. However, it's more likely that there's a real benefit to be had from giving your business an online boost.

Look at it this way: what if every pizzeria in a small town has an oven that can cook three pizzas at once? There's no disadvantage to any restaurant having a three-pizza oven, but if there was little expense involved in expanding capacity - buying a four-pizza oven - then the first to do so would have a clear advantage. So it is with your company's website, a clear headstart over your rivals. Your business becomes more accessible for customers and clients, it has a clearer public image, and you can provide a more personal and appealing service. Any company, whatever their circumstances, can gain from an effective and attractive website.

But hang on a moment. Websites don't grow on trees. There isn't a button on your computer which makes a stylish site appear in a puff of smoke. A new site for your business means hiring outside expertise. Can you be sure that the costs will be covered by benefits? It's an understandable question, but a redundant one. You're going to make the new website yourself. Yes, you. And it's not as difficult as you might think.

The vital first step is to decide what you need to put in your site. There's no harm at all in looking around the web to get ideas, to find out what works and what doesn't, not to copy but to get a clearer notion of what your site should have. And there are a few rules that you need to follow for your site, which will help keep visitors' attention, and keep them coming back.

Don't clutter a page up with more than is necessary, whether words or images; the average user takes much less time looking through a commercial webpage than they would reading or watching a conventional advert, and if they have to search through the whole page to find what they want, many simply won't bother. On a similar note, use a simple scheme of high contrast colours and consistent, plain fonts - if it's difficult to read, then once again, visitors most likely won't make the effort.

Another essential is known as the 'three click rule' - quite simply, visitors should be able to reach anything on your site from any page, with no more than three mouse clicks needed to take them there. And the links that navigate between pages should be intuitive; clicking on a picture of something you have for sale ought to bring up a page where that item can be purchased. Finally, but perhaps most importantly, it's always vital to remember that not all visitors to the site will be able to view it in the same way - for example, visually impaired visitors should be able to get the full benefit from the site through text being read out loud by an audio reader, and images and logos should not be critical to using the site. Failing to make your site accessible to all, regardless of ability or disability, risks losing valuable customers (and in some countries, can be considered a criminal offence).

Forming an idea of how you want the site to appear, and applying the rules that ensure it will work effectively, are key steps in getting your site up and running. Yet however perfect your preparation, you still need to construct the pages themselves.

There are two routes you can take: firstly, you could learn the relevant languages, particularly html and JavaScript. Neither of these are especially complicated languages, and both are written in plain English, but both also inevitably take time to pick up.

The second route is much quicker and easier, and probably more suitable to someone creating and maintaining a new website for their business - using specialist software to construct the site, allowing you to visually position every element of a page where you want it, dragging and dropping images or multimedia content, forming links and typing text without having to enter any code at all.

Web design software, such as Microsoft's Expression Web, gives you the power to build, maintain and update your own site without learning any new skills. Expression Web also helps you to adhere to those rules, checking that every part of your site works as it should, and ensuring that it complies entirely with accessibility demands.

Once your site is finished, getting it on to the internet isn't at all complicated, as there are many companies (probably including your own internet service provider) that offer a cheap and easy service to upload your site to the web and provide you with a catchy address. Before you do that, though, you should test the site. Again, Expression Web can help you with this process, highlighting and dealing with any technical issues which might prevent it from working correctly, but it's also worth having human input. Ask friends, colleagues or family to use the site before you upload it, and give you feedback on what works well (or what doesn't); by getting input from ordinary people rather than just the software, you can easily address any problems that might discourage customers, before the customers even set eyes on the site.

Constructing your own website for your business can give you a real advantage - just the online presence you need, at very little cost. And using Expression Web to take care of the technical side of the process, you can be confident of achieving the best results in very little time (and you might want to consider a short training course for yourself or your staff to get the most out of all Expression Web has to offer). With the right tools to hand, you can gain a real advantage for your business, with hardly any expense to hold you back.