It offers almost everything a person might need online and it can all be customized to a user's specifications. Business news on Microsoft or Sun, updated stock quotes for Intel, the TrailBlazers' score from last night and weather in Des Moines. Even a daily horoscope can be placed on a personal page. Finance keeps track of stocks as well as linking to personal bank accounts. It also provides a bill paying service.
Travel lets users plan their vacations.
The user makes his own choices. While your business may not require all the bells and whistles offered on these big players' sites, they can serve as inspiration. From there, the sky is the limit. Larger companies with immense Web presence can spend hundreds of thousands at a minimum, but more likely millions of dollars, to achieve a desirable level of customer satisfaction and interaction. Fortunately, there are also ways to personalize for free by piggybacking on the knowledge and success of better established companies that can add value to your Web site regardless of your business' size.