The
Internet is a great help to find information on
almost everything. Its like a universal library
where anyone can just walk in and explore the
universe of knowledge with simple and readily
available tools like PC, Modem etc. There is very
little entry fee (Internet Time and Telephone
bill) and most of the information available is
free.
However, one niggling question that frequently
comes back is - how reliable is this information
? Can we depend upon this to start a venture ?
Is it as reliable as information given in printed
books and reports ?
There is no shortcut or ready answer to this
question. Indeed, there are extremely good and
reliable sources of information in Internet -
but there are also websites which are of questionable
background. Like the fraud bank site Nigerian
scam artists created few months back to defraud
gullible surfers.
The anonymous nature of Internet is a great level
playing field for small and medium businesses
- but unfortunately also provides cover to fraudsters
and conmen.
Like many other areas in life - the solution
to this challenge is to remain alert and follow
certain basic guidelines. Just as driving car
is always risky as accidents can happen - but
remaining alert and following traffic rules greatly
reduce the risks.
Here is a set of criteria or checklist of questions
to help you evaluate a business website.
Evaluation Criteria for determining
Authenticity
There is always a commercial enterprise behind
every business web site. Usually, the website
reflects the name or function of the enterprise
and ends in a .com (commercial) or .biz (business).
Perhaps the most important task is to determine
how authentic or authoritative is the enterprise
behind the website. Questions to be asked are:
- Is it clear who is responsible for the contents
of the site ? Any confusion/ambiguity is to
be taken with great caution
- Any website with only IP Address (e.g. 203.55.11.23)
instead of a .com .biz or any other top level
domain name is a suspect. IP address is a perfect
cover to hide oneself and a legitimate business
will always try to promote itself - instead
of hiding behind an anonymous cover
- Is there a 'About us' page or link to a page
describing the nature of the company, who owns,
its products and services etc. ?
- Is there a way of verifying the legitimacy
of this company ? Some of the simple tools for
verification are telephone number, postal address
etc. Only e-mail address is not enough
- Is there a way of determining the stability
of this company ? Does it say how long they
are in business ?
- Does the enterprise show some verifiable proof
of reliability like list of customers, comments
of satisfied customers, references etc.
- Is there a statement that the content of the
page has the official approval of the company
? For example, copyright statement in favour
of the company in main page ?
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