Businesses of all sizes are being encouraged to tap into a "lucrative" online market by web hosting organisation Fasthosts.

According to the group, the number of registered UK websites recorded in the UK increased by 50 per cent in 2006, which intimates how many firms are coming alive to the possibilities offered up by a website.

Stephen Holford, director of product marketing at Fasthosts, explained how even if a website was only set up for the simple purpose of providing contact details or a business brochure, "it shouldn't become a neglected part of the business".

With the group estimating that spending online over the festive period amounted to £5 billion, Mr Holford said that updating or adding an innovative feature to a website could improve a businesses' share of the online market.

"You wouldn't be enticed to purchase from a shop that hasn't changed its window display for the past two years, so why should the web be any different?," he said.

For small businesses, a blog could prove to be a useful method of attracting internet browsers, despite a survey carried out by Fasthosts last year showing that less than one in ten SMEs had mooted the setting up of one.