E-Business & Websites

The E-Business Toolkit contains an introductory handbook How You Can Profit from E-Business and a series of booklets on a range of advanced e-business topics that are grouped into four theme areas.
Introductory Handbook: How you can profit from e-business
Guide that demonstrates that not all e-business activities have to be complex or costly to achieve benefits.  Those who are new to the world of e-business will find information and tools to help them get started.

TOOLKIT: EXTENDING YOUR SEARCH

Creating a Dynamic Web Presence
​Learn how you can create interactive websites to engage your target audiences.
Increasing traffic to your website through search engine optimization (SEO) techniques
Examine techniques to increase the volume of traffic to your website from potential customers using search engines.
Social media for Small Business
Learn how to craft a social media strategy as part of your overall marketing mix.
Blogs for Small Business
Examine the opportunities, benefits and how to’s of creating a successful blog to market your business.
Integrate mobile with your marketing strategy
Learn how you can integrate mobile with your marketing strategies to gain an edge in reaching out to customers.

TOOLKIT: INCREASING YOUR SALES

E-Commerce: Purchasing and Selling Online
Learn tips and strategies for attracting, serving and keeping your online customers.
Successful online display advertising
Discover techniques to advertise your business over the Internet.
E-Exporting
Learn how to use the internet to sell your products and services to customers in other countries.
Internet auctions and virtual malls
Understand how you can sell or buy online using internet auctions or virtual malls where many sites are listed together.
Customer relationship management (CRM)
Understand the basics of CRM and how the Internet can help you implement it into your business.

TOOLKIT: REDUCING YOUR COST

Cloud computing
​Learn the benefits, concerns and types of cloud computing and what to consider when moving your business to the cloud.
Open-Source Software
​Review the benefits and limitations of the open source approach and browse through a reference list of some of the most commonly used free software.
Integrating back office systems with e-commerce
Discover how to integrate existing back office systems with e-commerce solutions such as online ordering and online selling.

TOOLKIT: INFORMING YOUR DECISION

Online sources of e-business information
​Read through an overview of online information and resources related to e-business.
Benefiting from accessible e-business practices
​Learn why e-business and accessibility complement each other and how you can begin to integrate accessibility into online activities.
The legal and privacy issues of doing e-business
Browse through the legal and privacy considerations of doing business over the internet.

OTHER E-BUSINESS & WEBSITE RESOURCES

Free e-book: Succeed with e-commerce
Learn everything you need to get started in or improve online sales  Find out how to get your business ready, create your website and attract customers.
Free Website Builders List
Browse through the list of free website builders to help you build your own website.
Website Analytics and Performance Management
Discover how website analytics software can help you gain insight into your website’s traffic statistics.
Free and low-cost web analytics tools for your business
Discover the many tools available to help you track your company’s success online.
BDC's Free Website Assessment Tool
Get professional feedback on up to 5 pages of your website.
Reporting Internet business activities to Canada Revenue Agency
Read through CRA’s tax information for businesses doing business over the Internet.
E-business and selling to customers outside of Ontario
Explore tax and exporting regulations in your region.