One of the most important steps in launching an Internet-based home business is your website.

Some businesses come with professionally-developed websites that you can use and include everything you need. But if you’re going out on your own, you must know what you need on your website to improve your chances of success.

–Choosing a name—This is more important than you might think. First, you have to find out if the perfect name is still available through a domain site. With the thousands of website out there, chances are you’re not going to get your first choice. Say your name is Bob and you want your site to be BobsBikes.com. You just might find out that some other Bob already took that name. Having the .com suffix is nice, but you can also go with several other suffixes if you simply don’t want to change your company’s name. Also, be careful your website name doesn’t have any unfortunate double meanings.

–Social networking—Make certain you include social networking tags, such as FaceBook and Twitter, so that people have the chance to follow your business.

–Method of payment—If you sell a product from your site, you must have a method to accept payment. For the newbie, one of the easiest payment methods to set up is PayPal.

–Overall look—Your customers should immediately know what you’re selling and how to buy it. Keep your site as professional-looking as possible. People are leery of buying online, so the better looking your site, the safer your customers will feel.

–Search Engines—Register your website on all the search engines. It’s easy and free.With an online business, your website is your business. It should be a welcoming place where your customers will feel at ease. They shouldn’t be confused about what you are selling.

Your site should be easy to navigate with clearly delineated pages. Whether you create your own website or hire someone else to do it for you, a good website can make or break a business.