Your business can benefit from an online presence because of the flexible nature of online presentation.

It is possible to establish a cut off date for the sale of certain products and then use the same date to establish a new line. This can be accomplished through an automated dating system in web builder technology. You can even assign a certain product to show up in the clearance section of your site months ahead of time if you wish.

In a brick and mortar business environment there is a lot of work that has to be done whenever there is a change in sales promotions or when items need to be repriced and segregated for clearance sales. Staff members are required to stay late or come in early to make sure the new prices and displays are ready for the consumer.

In the world of online business you can create all the changes you want whenever it is most convenient. Because content information is tied to a dating system the web builder software will recognize those changes down to the minute.

If you've promised your customers a special sale beginning at a specific time it is possible to manage this change hands-free. When the time comes for the sale to begin the new information is assigned to the location you predetermined for it and customers gain immediate access to the sale prices.

Imagine the day after Thanksgiving, but without the hassle of actually having to show up for work on time. Many businesses enjoy the flexibility of making changes to their business site well in advance of the date the changes are to be put in place.

This idea may stand in stark contrast to the way you run your website. In many cases the only changes that can be made are alterations directed by the web designer. Often a web designer lacks the ability to make immediate and/or timely changes to your website. Businesses that use a web designer often need to make multiple requests for work to be completed on their site.

The growth of self-directed site design is due in large part to the need businesses have of being able to make immediate changes to their site if necessary. Due to the immediacy of the web it has also become important for businesses to learn to manage those changes quickly.

In a feat that might rival The North Pole and its inhabitants, webs builder technology seems to operate on a magical plane where things systematically change without the need for direct human intervention.

If you're a website owner have you ever had trouble managing even the simplest changes when you need changes made? It can be frustrating to know that the alterations of your website are contingent on the ability for someone else to view your needs as a priority. If your web designer doesn't view you as an immediate concern then you simply have to wait until they are good and ready to help.

Orchestrate your own business symphony by making sure every instrument comes in on time.

Reusing pieces of HTML code is a common way of making web sites (or web applications) more consistent, reliable, and more manageable. Even a small web site consisting of perhaps 20 or 30 web pages can benefit from reusing code for header and footer sections, for example. If the same header or footer is used across all the pages on the site, it makes sense to put the header and footer code in separate files, and then call those files to insert their contents where required.

PHP offers two statements that can be used for inserted the contents of one file inside another: include() and require(). These two statements are virtually identical, with the only real difference being that if require() fails, it gives a fatal error, whereas if include() fails it just gives a warning. For this reason I tend to use the include() statement as it just seems slightly more friendly.

So, to include the contents of a file called header.inc inside a web page called index.php, you would just need to insert the following line of code (wrapped in PHP opening and closing tags) inside index.php.

Include 'header.inc';

As PHP takes no notice of the extension used for the included file, you can use whatever extension you want to. Be careful though, if you put passwords inside an include file with a .inc extension, they will be visible. You can get around this by putting include files that contain sensitive information outside the document tree to prevent people from browsing to them.

In Part 2 we'll look at the use of functions when developing web sites and applications.

Depending on where you want to take your business, a multiple niche website can be an excellent platform with which to expand your business and cover a larger market. It could also be a good choice for you if your interests and expertise vary greatly. However, you also have a choice to just focus all your energies on building one site and staking your reputation on it. So will a multiple niche website be a good choice or will one big authority site increase your chances of success? Let's take a look at the benefits and limitations of each option:

Multiple Niche Websites:

A multiple niche website offers you an opportunity to reach several different segments of the market all at once, allowing you to cover as much ground as you can using just one or a few sites.

Advantages

A multiple niche website lets you communicate to multiple groups of potential customers and possibly close a business transaction from there. It also helps maximize your initial website building efforts, particularly because you only need to build each site around a single design concept.

Multiple niche websites can also showcase your flexibility and comprehensiveness of services that you offer. It's like having a multi-specialty site that attracts clients and customers from several different market segments and then doing business with them. Once your site has been around for sometime, it could easily pick up a minimum of 1,000 to 3,000 hits per day - even more when you've gained enough reputation and recognizability in the business.

Disadvantages

The disadvantage of a multiple niche website rests mainly on its design. Since you will be promoting different products and/or services from a single site, imagine how it would look like to a visitor. One site = hundreds of related links. And we're not just talking about internal links either.

A multiple niche website is essentially your store from which you'll be running your business. Once you're actively participating in the industry, it shouldn't be long until you find external links that you might want to refer to your visitors. Now imagine the chaos - dozens of links, banners, buttons, ads, graphics, pages upon pages, all coming from just one direction, each one crying out for attention.

If you can't manage it well, a multiple niche website can grow to be a multi-headed monster, each one heading for a different direction and demanding a different type of approach. In the end, there is a danger that you could be competing with no one else but yourself.

Build multiple niche websites if...

- You have the expertise and the experience in the specific niches you want to focus on.

- You have the skills, time or manpower to devote for the development of each niche.

- You have the resources to spend for the demands that a multiple niche site will require.

- You have established an organized and well-designed business processing system to handle transactions such as sales, discounting, customer service, subscription, etc.

- You have the patience of a saint and the eye for detail of an IRS auditor.

Single Authority Site

The single authority site is just that - one site offering excellent products or services pertaining to a single niche or industry.

Advantages

One big authority site is perfect for people who want to build their expertise in only one field or niche. If there's one thing you can do well and you want to make it your business, take this route. It's easy to set up, doesn't require a lot of resources and is relatively cheaper to run. You could also concentrate all your efforts here and become a respected guru in a specific field instead of being the internet marketer who juggles with multiple industries and never quite achieving expert status.

Disadvantages

If you made a mistake in your choice of niche, a single authority site can fizzle out like a short matchstick. When it goes, it goes and there's nowhere else you can turn to or fall back on, unlike a multiple niche website where there are other things going on for you.

You could also miss the opportunity of providing products and services for a wider market segment, thus limiting your income potential. If the niche you chose has a limited market, your site's traffic counter will reflect that in the number of hits it receives.

Build one big authority site if...

- Your expertise is limited to only one area and you are confident you can comfortably grow in it.

- You want to become a known authority in that niche.

- You have limited knowledge or training.

- You want to focus all your time, effort and money developing one big authority site versus a multiple niche website.