smallbusiness.co.uk: Helping your business think big

By failing to maintain an up-to-date website, small businesses are missing out on one of the greatest sales opportunities in history, according to new research.

Research by Internet design and marketing company Netflare found 23 per cent of small business websites have not been updated since their launch, making much of their content out-of-date or obsolete.

And the average website was four years old and only eight per cent of the websites surveyed sold goods or services online, despite the huge increase in online purchases.

'It is beyond comprehension that small business owners are ignoring one of the fastest growing sales opportunities there has ever been,' says managing director of Netflare Jon Beal.

According to the company, online sales are a potentially huge market, with 21 million Britons logging on every day and 72 per cent purchasing goods and services online. The Office for National Statistics says that in 2005 the value of goods sold over the internet was £103 billion.