Internet Standards: How One State's Small Business Web Sites Compare to Expectations

Small business owners are increasingly realizing the importance of establishing an Internet presence. The purpose of the study reported here was to evaluate a sample of Web sites of small and often rural businesses and compare how well the Web sites met a set of 40 standards identified in the literature. In general, the Web sites scored well. The largest area of concern was the lack of variety of ways a customer could order or get assistance. Suggestions are provided as to how this information can be used by Extension educators.