BT Business woos small firms with Online Starter Kit

BT is reaching out to SMEs with a web site starter kit

BT Business today launched an Online Starter Kit designed to help small and medium sized companies boost their online presence.

The new bundle features all the tools necessary to create what BT describes as a compelling online presence. The service costs £199 including 12 months' web hosting, or £5 a month for new customers with BT Business Total Broadband Option 3.

The bundle of services and tools includes web site design consultation, a professional web site build, logo design, advice on copy and keywords to ensure a high position in search rankings, web hosting, domain-based webmail and a BT Tradespace profile.

BT Tradespace is a Web 2.0 platform designed to allow smaller businesses to market themselves more effectively, and engage with customers, partners and suppliers through social networking and blogging tools.

BT Business said that a fifth of small businesses still do not have an official web site, despite billions of pounds projected to come from online retail sales this year.

Keywords are also frequently overlooked as a way of generating traffic, despite being an effective way to optimise a site for search engines.

"Every business needs an effective online presence that works well with search engines, but this can sometimes be a daunting step for startups," said Jerry Thompson, director of business products and online at BT Business.

"Twenty per cent of small businesses now use social networking sites to win new business, so getting your company web site to work more effectively with social business networks, such as BT Tradespace, is becoming more and more important."