A question often asked by small to medium businesses thinking of expanding on to the web for the first time, and increasingly pondered in the light of cost cutting necessities due the credit crunch.

Do small to medium businesses really need a website? Is a website a luxury that can be done without when cash flow is tight, or is it really an essential element in creating new trade and bringing in fresh custom?

In the UK, over 11 million Britons make internet purchases at least twice a week, according to a new poll by comparison site ShopZilla.co.uk, whilst 90% admit to buying from an internet shop at least once month. That's an awful lot of turnover bypassing the traditional high street outlets and ringing the virtual cash registers.

In the first quarter of 2008, those sales amounted to £213 per person in the UK, or a total of £13bn internet sales. Despite the credit crunch, that is a year on year increase of over 15%, (source: imrg.org)

Those statistics alone probably answer the question as to whether anyone involved in retail needs an e-commerce outlet to compliment their high street outlet. Ecommerce is certainly not immune from the effects of the credit crunch, (comparable figures from 2007 show a 50% year on year increase), but as still expanding industry, it is likely to continue to show growth as those restricted to high street sales will inevitably see a dip in turnover.

With some web designers offering ecommerce website design from £599, a move into on-line sales becomes an increasingly logical step for those retail outlets who haven't yet made the leap. A custom branded website can compliment, and supplement the main core high street business with very little initial outlay and nominal service costs.

It is not just established retailers who can benefit from expansion into on-line sales though. As household budgets get tighter, more and more individuals are looking to supplement their income by turning a talent for their particular hobby or craft into a cottage internet business.

The overheads involved in outfitting a real world shop mean that many people with a service to sell can't raise the funds to make worth while profit out of their skills. The comparatively low start up costs of having a web designer create a bespoke web shop mean that the initial outlay can often be recouped within the first 6 months laving further sales as pure profit. Even low volume sales for a niche, or specialist product can make a difference to the family finances with no business rates, utility costs, or even craft fair or car boot entry costs to cover.

So if it makes sense to add e-commerce to any existing retail venture, what about those businesses that cant, or don't wish to sell direct from a website?

There are many service based businesses, or those selling large, cumbersome items like white goods or cars that don't need the facility to take payment and complete transactions on-line. Do such businesses need a website presence and the cost of a website designer to set it all up?

The first factor to consider is how potential clients find a high street business in the internet age. in the past, someone looking for a business service would turn to the likes of the Phone Book, Yellow pages or Thompson local directory. A business advert in these publications can often cost more than a simple custom designed website, and it is debatable how effective it now is as a marketing tool.

Ask yourself how many times you go to the trouble of leafing through the phone book and then incurring costs when you have to ring up a business to find out their opening times and where exactly they are located? The vast majority of people now use Google as their first port of call when seeking even local business services, and they expect to be able to find all the information they need, including how to find you and how to get in touch at the click of a mouse.

If your business doesn't have a basic website announcing your existence on he web, you can be sure that at least one of your local competitors will have. Guess who is going to get the custom when your site doesn't exist, but all their contact details are there to be found in an instant?

Even non-profit groups like local sports teams, book clubs and charity fund raisers can benefit enormously from a site that not only advertises their existence for new members, but with the addition of a forum or message board can become a thriving on-line community to extend the social side, and the organization of events into the virtual world. Many such community websites boost funds by hosting pay per click advertising on their sites targeted at their particular niche market, and thus help to cover costs through their site. A site with a self admin feature can enable non technical people to ad news stories, tutorials or helpful articles to the core of the site with no computer skills needed at all.

So does your business need a website?
In the internet age, the answer has to be yes. Without a website to let the virtual world know that you exist, it is inevitable that as well as missing out on profit and exposure, you are likely to begin to fade from the real world too.

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