Website Features vs. Business Benefits

Website Feature	Description	Business Benefit
Professional Design	A website that looks and feels like it has been designed by a web agency and reinforces your brand rather than looking home-made.	A professional looking website will tell customers that your business is professional and efficient. Studies have shown a user will make up their mind whether to stay on a website in a matter of seconds, based on their first impression. Your brand is one of your most valuable assets (albeit intangible). A website is the ideal place to convey this brand.
Content Management System	Allows a user to add and remove pages and update text and pictures with just a web browser. Example here: www.youtube.com/watch?v=oYSOFTNLbKY	The very latest information about your business and its products and services will be available to your customers. The cost of maintaining your website will be reduced to practically zero.
Search Engine Optimization (SEO)	Changes to the HTML code, the wording of your website and online promotion to get your website to appear higher up in search results.	More potential customers to your website who are searching for your products or services.
XHTML/CSS	Websites used to be built with HTML “tables” which were used to create a layout grid. Websites are now built with XHTML/CSS which is faster to load and easier for search engines to understand.	Visitors see your website more quickly, increasing satisfaction and making them more likely to stay and potentially purchase. Your website will appear higher in search engine results, giving you more visitors.
PHP	This is one of many programming languages used to connect websites to databases and make them interactive. It is one of the most popular languages and the world's most popular website (Facebook) is written in it.	Free to everyone with no license fees, keeping your costs low. There are plenty of PHP software developers all over the world, meaning you won't be stuck with a website no one can work with. There is already a massive amount of free software written in this language, keeping your costs low.
MySQL	This is a free and open source database. For most purposes in terms of websites the paid alternatives are not significantly better. Adheres to the SQL standard.	Keeps your costs low without sacrificing functionality or speed. Your data is stored in an open format that is compatible with other platforms, avoiding "vendor lock-in".
Flash	If there's animation and video on a website then it's most likely to be Adobe Flash. It's a very bad idea to build a whole website with this but when used for small areas of video and interactivity nothing comes close.	Can significantly enhance the user experience of your website leading to more visitors staying longer and purchasing more.