It's everywhere. Hype that is. Hype about the World Wide Web - and finger-wagging predictions that if YOU don't get your community service group or business on the world wide web by the year 2000 (starting this year, of course) your group or business will be permanently ensconced in Edsel and Dodo Land.

How much is hype, and how much is the veritable truth? If there is any truth in it at all, what are the steps necessary to get a business on the web - and hopefully turn a profit?

First, the cold hard truth. Some businesses probably shouldn't get on the web. A walk-in Taco Bell isn't going to augment its business very much by selling its wares in cyberspace.

On the other hand, those who watched Sandra Bullock in the movie, "The Net", know that you can order pizza quite effectively over the Net - although the phone will do just as well. Lots of businesses (and substitute "community service groups" or "other type of concerns" for the rest of this article) are structured to do very well on the web.

The most lucrative businesses are selling things like CD's, books, gourmet foods, exotic wines, travel tickets, and hotel bookings. The common denominators seems to be 1) ease of ordering, 2) products that can't be found down at the K-Mart, 3) products that can be sent by mail, and 4) products that sell well at 4AM in the morning, when everybody else is sleeping. In addition, successful sites include information providers, or networking centers, where people go to find out things, study things, or interact in some way with useful information.

If nothing else, a web site gives a group or business a "presence" that is useful for advertising, customer support, or its own electronic center for email addresses. Email is becoming the "killer" application that will drive people to the Net in exponential numbers. It's just too convenient to pass up. The web is a natural extension of email, because it gives you a chance to communicate with the world, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. (Assuming you have something to communicate.)

So ... you make the decision to put your group or business or concern on the web. You hope to turn a profit, increase membership, provide a service, or just make your efforts known to the universe. What are the steps to getting on the web and then actually having people come and visit your web site?

Remember, a world wide web site is nothing more than a bunch of documents and files sitting in a hard disk in a computer, somewhere in an office, somewhere in the world, with a wire linking it to the rest of the information superhighway. You can make a great web site - but if nobody knows you're there, you'll seldom hear a knock at the door. It's very much like putting on a stage play in a cave 500 feet under ground, and never telling anyone that you exist.

Step 1 - "Needs Analysis". Clarify your purpose. Is it to make money, host an information site, gain members, or just provide a service? What's your target audience? Young people, old people, everyone in the world? Do you have a budget? What is your budget? Do you hope to make so much money that you're willing to invest in a lot of up front web design costs? How interactive do you want your site to be? Interactivity adds cost, because something like a discussion forum is usually run by programmed scripts, and requires more expertise. Web design costs are all over the map - but the average, professional, market standard is $60 per hour. Decide if you want a cheap "canned" web site based on templates, or a "cutting-edge" work of art, or something in between. Decide up front, in order to control costs.

Step 2 - "Content Outline". An extension of Step 1, writing down the contents and categories of your projected web site will reveal how much it will cost - and at the same time give you a chance to make a more functional web site. Web designers can help you with both steps - good ones will try to think as if they were you -- and guide you in terms of what's possible, and what's not. For example, graphics add cost to web sites, because each graphic requires individual manipulation - which takes time (and designers often charge by the hour.)

Step 3 - "Find A Web Site Provider". There's enough competition out there to confuse the most patient shopper. Some of the issues that you should look for are:

1) Cost. No one wants to pay more than they have to, of course. The market average for business web sites is floating around $100 per month, with many lower, and many higher. (Our sites cost $34.99 and $49.99 per month.) Remember that although many ISP's provide their dial up customers with personal "home pages" for free, many also don't allow monetary transactions to take place on those pages. For that, you need a "business" web site - and that's a whole new ballgame.

2) Features. Make sure your web site provider is giving you full FTP and Telnet access, so that you can upload your own files if you want. Check that your site gives you "CGI" access, so that your designer can implement Perl scripts if you need them (for interactive forms, etc.) Other options include a POP3 email account, additional hard disk space at a reasonable cost, unlimited hits and bandwidth, autoresponders, secure transaction ability, and SPEED of access. The bottom line: don't get a wimpy site, or you or your designer will be very frustrated.

3) Customer Service. Some sites have phone tech support, and some emphasize email or forum-based tech support. The mode of "reply" doesn't matter - what does matter is that it's quick, courteous and accurate. I've talked to tech people who knew less than I did, and others who acted as if I was unworthy to ask them anything, and shouldn't bother them anyway. Don't get trapped with yucky tech support. A good indication is if they answer your emails quickly - rather than waiting a week.

Step 4 - "Find a Web Designer". Of course you can do it yourself - if you're willing to spend the time learning: 1) How to create "HTML" documents, 2) How to make an ATTRACTIVE web site (knowing the technicalities doesn't mean that it has to be beautiful) 3) How to "upload" your files to the web site, and 4) How to handle other technical aspects of running your web site (like forms, etc.) More and more software programs are WYSIWYG, but you still have to deal with the other issues. For many people, finding a professional (or non- professional) web designer is the best option. Just make sure that before you throw your money at him or her you critique him by looking at his work. If you like it, he'll probably do as good a job for you. If a non-professional says he'll do it, but has no work examples, make an agreement for him to work for 5 or 10 hours "on spec". If you like his work, you pay him, if you don't, go elsewhere, with no obligation. The rates of $60 per hour are reasonable for professionals - but it finally boils down to budget. Remember, 10 hours of work is not really that much, but it adds up to $600. A reasonable fee for a full- featured commercial web site with many pages, and dozens of graphics or other techy features is anywhere from $2,000 to $5,000. Fix your budget up front, and make sure that the designer knows that $1,000 (or whatever) is all you've got. It may still cost more.

Step 5 - "Publicize Your Site". Ain't no one going to come if you don't tell 'em you're there. Publicizing your site takes two major routes.

1) "Online" Publicity. Some options are:

a) Register your site with as many "search engines" as you can.

b) Cross link your site with other compatible sites, so that their visitors will come to you.

c) Carefully (and I mean "carefully") consider posting press-release type newsbites in Usenet newsgroups. The rule of thumb: don't post in an incompatible newsgroup, and don't overdo it. I post to about 30 newsgroups each month - always the same ones, and all of them compatible with my press release about the "new issue" of "The HeartThread Journal on Marriage, Parenting and Family." In almost a year, I've received only three "flames", two from nut cases, and one that was withdrawn after I explained myself.

d) Put information about your site in your email "signature" at the bottom of each email. Don't make it too long or too LOUD. (Mine's kind of long, but at least it's not too loud. I just have a lot of address information.)

e) Post to the thousands of free classified ad sites, if it's appropriate.

2) "Off-line" Publicity:

This can be even more effective - but it takes time and/or money. Still, there are many ways that you can inform the world about your site. Put your "URL" (your web address) on your business cards, stationary, and everywhere else it will go. Send out press releases to the "New Sites" sections of Internet magazines or other magazines. Do what I'm doing in this article - write an information piece that will hopefully provide a genuine service - and put your URL at the end. ;-) Pay for ads - if you can afford it. As with all marketing - the final issue is to "just get the word out."

Step 6 - "Bring People Back to Your Site". This is perhaps the most important. If you have a static, "electronic brochure", that never changes, people may visit once - but they might not come back. Do something that will bring them back alive - like a weekly column, a discussion forum, an interactive service, or a constantly updated information reference database. Put something new up, so that users will think, "I'd better go see what's new at my favorite site."

Step 7 - "Don't Give Up". Finally, just remember that of all the millions of people that are online - they're still only a minuscule minority. By getting online now, you'll be way ahead of the pack in terms of a mature, well-developed site. You may not make money right away, but you'll have a far better chance as time goes by. Don't give up!

Peter Brown is with The World Community Service Network, at http://worldcommunity.com" which provides web hosting services and web design services to community service groups, businesses and individuals. Web sites are reasonably priced at $34.99 and $49.99 per month. For an automatic information reply, email "website@worldcommunity.com". To reach a human, email "peterbrown@futurerealm.com" or call (757) 468-6848.

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