Widespread use is still in the future. Much of the world has little or no Internet access, even in the most 'wired' parts of the industrialized world a minority of people use the Internet. But it's a minority of 100 million people, and it's still showing double-digit monthly growth rates. Getting on the Net today won't magically double the size of your business tomorrow. However, considering that the concept of 'surfing the web' was unknown five years ago but is a cliche today, it's a good bet that in the very near future people will use the Internet as readily as they use telephones today.
Websites are expensive.
There are horror stories of companies spending tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars on their web presence, and seeing little or no return on that investment. However, the cost for developing a typical website for a small business, in the range of two to three thousand dollars for the first year, compares favourably with other advertising costs. An informative and interesting site, in conjunction with more traditional advertising methods, can be very effective locally, nationally and even internationally. Being lost in the crowd. There's over a hundred million webpages out there, making the chances of someone stumbling across your site pretty small.