At nearly every gathering of small business owners I attend, questions come up about building or enhancing a website that can attract more customers. This issue of WhatWorks brings together four guides around that topic, including website development basics, making a site more interactive or multilingual, plus a long list of free and helpful site development tools.

This week's Q&A explores the still largely unknown new ID theft prevention rules that will soon impact millions of small businesses. Don't miss this! As always, visit our What Works for Business blog for the latest small business solutions.





Beware: New ID Theft Prevention Rules

Q. Dear Dan: As an auto dealership, we are involved in granting credit. We are also aware of new federal "Red Flags" rules; but many other businesses that grant credit are not. Have you warned small businesses about this? – Seeing Red

A. Dear Seeing Red: Life wasn't tough enough, right? Now, starting May 1, 2009, millions of small and medium businesses that extend credit or defer payments for goods and services will be subject to a new set of rules under something called the Fair and Accurate Transaction Act. Here's what you need to know




Getting Started
Website Development Basics
By Matt Alderton
Like getting a business license or filing your corporate tax return, website development is a critical step toward business startup and business success. That's because in a world where Internet is king, website development services are a company's crown jewels. Web page development services help you create an online presence, build sales, branding and customer loyalty. Read Full Guide

Fostering User Activity
Making Your Web Site More Interactive
By Beth Stackpole
Expectations surrounding Web sites have changed. A static, brochure-style site is so yesterday. To capture the interest of today's savvy Internet users, learn how to create a "sticky" site that keeps people engaged and encourages them to return.


Tools You Can Use
Free Web Development Tools & Resources for Entrepreneurs
By Shara Karasic
From ecommerce to social networking, web design, widgets and site promotion, there are many cool tools that help small business owners get a web presence jumpstarted for cheap. Click here for the list of the best free resources for web 2.0 design, development and ecommerce.

Talk Their Language
Creating a Multilingual Web Site
By Greg Brown
If there ever was a gigantic problem with the Web, it's words. English has dominated the medium for years, but Chinese, Spanish, Hindi and Arabic, along with other common world tongues, could soon displace English. As the Web mushrooms, huge slices of information will stay invisible to any part of the world that doesn't speak the language of origin. Read Full Guide

Startup
Technology
Management
Money and Finance