Businesses need to ask why they want a website before they begin [1]. For many businesses, a static page is more than sufficient - it's a non-confrontational way for them to communicate with a potential client, give that client a feel for the business before the client has to make a phone call. My experience doesn't accord with issues like "the ISP paid in advance, and the site continues as a zombie".

I'd like to see more businesses with blogs, and they would benefit. But in terms of priorities, I work with several businesses right now where a blog would be detrimental because it would overtake things like 'sales' on their to-do list. More advanced websites exist for other business reasons, but this advice isn't designed for businesses wanting to sell product through their site anyway.

[1] http://www.shirlawsonline.com/blogs/171-there-are-only-four-...